A Whiz Of A Wiz

You wouldn’t think there’d be much call for a Wizard of Oz cake, but I’ve actually made this one twice –for a costume party and for a celebration of a stage production of the show.

Each character represented a unique challenge.

Bert Lahr played the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 film, and as fabulous as he looked, he was clearly a man dressed in a lion costume. For the cake, the question arose: should I be loyal to the Lahr model and make a lion-suited man, standing on two feet, or should I try to create an authentic looking animal? Deciding that the former might look somewhat bizarre, I went the more straightforward route and he ended up on all fours.

Until quite recently it was nearly impossible to find kosher metallic lustre dust with which to coat the Tin Man, and there really was no acceptable substitute. The first time I made the cake, he had to settle for being a rather dull grey tin but by the second attempt, I had managed to locate the lustre dust and he took on quite a nice sheen, which interestingly also gave him much more personality. Judge for yourself.

Dorothy was fairly straightforward. I didn’t bother to copy Judy Garland’s exact hair style (French braids to the shoulders then ribboned and ringleted). Her ruby slippers received a layer of red sugar crystals for that extra sparkle and she carries her signature wicker basket.

I wanted to give the Scarecrow an off-balance look since Ray Bolger’s amazingly elastic body really defined the character. However, a fondant figure doing the splits didn’t have a prayer of standing upright. If you look carefully, you’ll see that he’s actually leaning against a large tree stump, perfectly natural for the setting and indispensable for stability.

Another tree stump is serving the Wicked Witch of the West in the other corner. Ideally, I actually wanted to pose her in flight, threatening the quartet below. I suppose I could have accomplished that by attaching her to the cake with a thick wire but it seemed too risky. I have it on good authority that the little witch was taken home as a souvenir by the actress portraying her and stored in the refrigerator. She remained there for some time and then proceeded to melt as soon as she was taken out. A lesson to all – moisture and witches (and fondant) don’t mix!