Creating a cake based on the late Terry Pratchett’s Discworld has been the latest creative effort from Alex and myself. Greg and Isla, our two children, decided to have a joint birthday party this year, with fancy dress themed on Discworld characters. We took on the challenge of providing a cake to match the theme.

A turtle with four giant elephants on its back supporting the Discworld

Sculpting the cake was the first step

Next a head was added

More cake was cut to make the forelimbs and to represent the elephant bodies

Fondant icing was rolled out and used to cover the pieces

A first check on how the parts will fit together

Eyes were added and the shell pattern was marked out

The turtle was painted using cake decorating colours

Prototype elephant heads

The completed cake

The Discworld

The cake packed up for transport to Southampton for the party

The demolition of the cake begins