Does anyone have any cake decorating tips?

[The Ironic Chef]

Mama, are you buying your circus made in China? It's against the law here in the states to use lead based paints on anything a child can touch.
I would think that if the doll is plastic you don't need to use plastic Kempette. I am not a doll person but I can say that none of my daughters Barbies were ever painted, nor my sons GI Joes or army men.

[Mama Mangia]

when I make a cake like that I wrap the doll in plastic wrap before inserting in the hole of the cake

the dolls are plastic - but at least they are not painted with lead paint!

another thing you can do - depending on the cake decoration - use fondant under the toys - and colored fondant shapes can add to the look of the cake

[Mama Mangia]

IC - that train is probably from China - so much is these days and even if it something says it is from another country how do I know china didn'ta make it for them to export? - and I've already thought of using a layer of waxed paper over the frosting and covering that with a layer of colored fondant - lift the waxed paper and toss that and the fondant out when ready to serve

[The Ironic Chef]

But Mama, eating the decorations is the best part. I have never known my kids not to fight over which got which flower or the last chocolate strawberry.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

IC funny you mention China, my 9 yr old refuses to have anything made from China, and when it comes to candy or snacks she always checks to see where it is made!

She believes in an all out Boycot against Wal-Mart totally because they buy so much from China, and use child labor (sweat shops) and she is becoming quite the activist!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

[The Ironic Chef]

I was drinking a bottle of Tropicana apple juice not to long ago and was surprised to see that all the apples in it came from other countries. I would think we had plenty of apples in this country to make apple juice. At least we have laws here regarding the processing of apples for juice and pasteurization. Who knows what kind of animal waste can be getting onto fruit in countries where workers are only paid pennies a day. Just like the scare last year with peppers and tomatoes from Mexico.

[Mama Mangia]

IC - it's true with so many items - we export to other countries and then they charge us more to import the very same things - so they may be apples from our own country after all.

[Mamasrecipes]

You can see my favorite cake recipe on Mama's Recipes | Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish food | Simple Cooking under Cakes. I usually decorate it with walnuts and chocolate chips. Simple