Alligator Cake

Every year I make a birthday cake for the son of one of my best friends.  So far, I've made him a Fender guitar and a drum.  The guitar turned out a lot better than the drum, but oh well.  :)  This year, he requested a cake with alligators on it.  

After the birthday cake disaster with my own kids, I was worried that I was going to bomb on this cake, too.  Fortunately everything went well.  I shied away from carving a cake--though I have done it before, and I will need to get back on that horse eventually.  :)  Instead, I did a simple layer cake, and then put a pond in the middle for an alligator to lounge around in.  Here's pictures:

The alligator was a little tough to make.  I was going to do two, but the pond wasn't quite big enough (and I was worried that the second wouldn't come out right...stupid cake disaster phantoms).  I didn't quite get the eyes right--live and learn.  :)  The 'rocks' came out well (I made them from fondant, too), and I used sugar in the raw around the pond to make it look something like a shore.  I'm very pleased with the results.  :)