A Birthday Cake Recipe Fit For Queen Fiona - WVXU

When you're the darling of Cincinnati a simple sheet cake just won't do. Fiona the hippo turns three on Friday and she's celebrating with a tiered confection combining all her favorite treats.

"We use different cake trays and we freeze the produce into layers to make it look pretty and decorative," says Head Africa Keeper Wendy Rice. "Mostly we're just sticking to foods that are part of her usual repertoire, but she'll get more of them and all of her favorite ones all at once."

Those favorites include Romaine lettuce. "...(It) has to be one of her favorite foods on the planet so we're planning to present this cake on a bed of lettuce," Rice explains. "There's a chance she'll just shove all of the cake out of the way and go for the platter of lettuce underneath."

Fiona, queen that she may be, is no dainty eater, Rice assures WVXU. "It will be sloppy and messy and I'm sure there will be drool all over the place, but that's part of the fun of hippos; they're kind of gross and we love that about them."

This year's cake isn't quite as ornate as last year's, which featured unicorns and rainbows. After getting the first bites, Fiona will share her treat with mom, Bibi. That also means this year's cake is a little healthier because Bibi is on a diet.

Zoo animals, of course, don't care what their food looks like, nor do they likely have any concept of a birthday, but Rice says keepers still track birthdays and make sure each animal gets something special on their big day. If an animal's birth date isn't known, she says, one is assigned so the animal doesn't miss out.

"I doubt Fiona cares if the cantaloupe is cut into the shape of a star or a unicorn but we sure get a kick out of it. The care team certainly feels like her surrogate mom, so just like any parent on their child's birthday, we like to do it up big and celebrate.

"It's a fun way for us as a team to work on a silly project together, and also share with the community that so clearly loves and adores her and is still following her story to this day."

Want to give Fiona's favorite cake a go yourself? The zoo shared the recipe with us below:

Ingredients

Bamboo leaves
Timothy Hay grass and apple and oat horse treats
Frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
Beet pulp
Apple juice and apple slices
Yellow squash and zucchini
Cantaloupe, cut into fun shapes using cookie cutters
Grapes, strawberries, kiwi and plums

Instructions

Combine each ingredient in a layer and freeze in cake pans. Stack the frozen layers. Garnish with the decorative cantaloupe shapes. Serve on a bed of fresh Romaine lettuce leaves. Serves two. Weight: approximately 10 pounds.

Let's block ads! (Why?)