Monarch Butterfly Cake

My son decided he wanted to have an Art in Nature birthday party so we came up with a butterfly cake.  To stick with the nature theme, I frosted the cake to look like a real monarch butterfly.  

I made a giant chocolate sheet cake.  Then cut the cake in the shape of a monarch butterfly using this image as a guide.  

I frosted the cake with a basic buttercream tinted orange and black.  Then I formed the eyes and the tips of the antennae from gum paste attaching the antennae tips to toothpicks to give the antennae some structure.  

I found these gold and while pearled sixlet candies in the baking aisle at Walmart and used them to decorate both the butterfly cake and chocolate cupcakes.  I was really happy with this cake.  It was both beautiful and delicious.  

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