Happy 1st Birthday Cake

Instructions

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1. - In advance: Make #1 candy plaque. Pour 12 oz. melted red candy into #1 pan. Tap to settle; chill until firm. Fill pan with 24 oz. melted white candy. Tap to settle; chill until firm. Unmold onto soft cloth. Attach edible paper letters with piping gel.
2. -

   Make paper tears and flame. Tint 4 oz. melted white candy yellow. Place two sheets of yellow edible paper shiny sides together on cake board. Position paper tears pattern and cut out with knife. You will need 16 to 18 2-layer shapes. Carefully peel apart layers. Brush one shiny side with yellow candy; immediately position matching shape on top. Form a curved shape and let set on large flower former. Repeat process for cutting flame; let dry flat.

   For candle wick, cut a strip, 1 1/2 in. long x 1 1/4 in. wide, from edge of alphabet edible paper. Use melted candy to attach wick and flame to lollipop stick; let set.

3. - Prepare boards. For base board, mark center of foamcore. Cut away a 1 1/2 in. circle to allow for center post. Cut a 12 in. square board. Mark center of 12 in. cake board. Cut away a 2 3/8 in. circle to allow for center post base. Wrap base board with foil.
4. - Bake and cool two 2-layer cakes. Ice cakes smooth, 12 in. cake in yellow, 16 in. cake in white. Prepare for towering tiers construction and stacked construction.
5. - For 16 in. cake, cut eight strips from short end of streamers edible paper, 4 in. high x 8 in. wide, reserving remainder from each sheet for cake top. Attach to cake sides using piping gel. Attach two strips, 8 in. x 2 3/4 in., side by side on front end of cake top; repeat with two more strips for back end. Cut two strips, 2 3/4 in. x 10 3/4 in.; attach on remaining cake top borders, between previously placed strips. For ribbon, cut four strips, 2 in. wide x 6 1/2 in. long, from red edible paper. Attach with piping gel, centering over seams from attached strips.
6. - For 12 in. cake, use punch with layered circle inserts to cut 10 small and eight large circles each from red, bright green and bright blue edible paper. Attach randomly on cake with piping gel, trimming as needed.
7. - Assemble cakes. Position 16 in. cake with short center post. Add tall center post and 12 in. cake. Cut two dowel rods to 4 in. Insert in 12 in. cake top 4 in. apart, where candy plaque will rest. Using full length dowel rod, dip 2 in. of end in melted candy to fit more securely in tall center post. Let set. Use melted candy to attach dowel rod 2 in. inside post extending 9 in. at top. Attach candy plaque to extended rod with melted candy. Attach flame to back of plaque. Position paper tears around plaque, securing with tip 8 dots of icing.