Hayley's Fish Tank Cake

          My daughter Hayley turned 3 years old last week! I can't believe it. She saw this cake online when we were searching for a cake she wanted and she just had to have it. I can't take credit for the idea; I found this cake here: http://www.parenting.com/article/how-to-make-a-fish-tank-birthday-cake. The instructions were very easy to follow. I had to make a few minor adjustments as far as decorations go. I couldn't find spearmint candies for some of the seaweed so I used these sour candy strips called "Rips." I also couldn't find praline crunch ice cream topping for the gravel, so I used some cinnamon pecan ice cream topping I found at Walmart and it gave the same effect. It took a little assembly time, but the look on Hayley's face when she got to see it and eat it made it all worth it! I made the cake and frosting from scratch as well (sooooo much better that way). For the cake, I used this recipe from CookingLight.com (minus the frosting part of the recipe): http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/yellow-sheet-cake-with-chocolate-frosting-10000001054821/. The cake itself was simple, moist, and tasted great. I used a Betty Crocker recipe from a cupcake book I own for both the vanilla and chocolate frosting and they were scrumptious. If you have a fish-loving family member or friend, this cake really takes the cake!

Tip: 
          The instructions suggest you use a plastic zip-top bag with a cut corner to pipe the chocolate frosting onto the cake for the edges of the fish tank. I did that, but as you can see, the piped frosting isn't perfectly straight and is a little wavy because it's hard to maintain a consistent pressure with a plastic bag with an unevenly cut corner (and if you push too hard, the frosting will burst out of the bag, which has happened to me before and it's extremely annoying). I would suggest, if you have one, using a pasty bag with a small round tip to pipe the frosting on for a more solid, smooth piped line of frosting.