Ninja Turtle Lego Batman Cake

        My friend Kaylin contacted me about 2 1/2 weeks before her boyfriend Dan's 30th birthday party, saying she REALLY wanted to surprise him and make him a fantastic cake full of his favorite things. Naturally, I was all gung-ho about making what she described as a "Lego, batman, and maybe Ninja Turtle" 30th birthday cake, but I was also a bit skeptical because...well, because Kaylin and I have known each other a LONG time and working on a cake together seemed awfully dangerous  because we really know how to push each other's buttons. Kaylin claims I have a super short temper (yes, pretty guilty) but ask anyone that knows HER and they will tell you that yes, she can really push some buttons. So, you know, there was that. Regardless, we were still both sucking it up and ready to make this surprise birthday cake!
      I baked the cakes, gave them a crumb layer, and had them waiting for decorating which was going to take place on Monday afternoon (which gave us about 6 days at that point). Monday morning, however, I woke up to a devastating message in my facebook inbox that said she would not be available to make this cake because Dan's dad had passed away. This was also the day before Dan's actual birthday. I didn't know the man, but I can assure you I was totally crushed, for both of them. Kaylin and I have both lost dear, loved members of our lives in the last few months and...quite frankly, neither of us have really gotten over it. My dad lost his best friend (which hurt me WAY more then I could have ever expected, it hurts so much to see really...ALIVE people pass on, you know?) and Kaylin's former stepfather and good friend passed away within days of my loss. I loved and cared for them both, they were both too young to go, and even though I functioned and went on about my business those losses have set so heavy on my heart since May.
        I read a book last week that said something I truly believe: "Death doesn't add to death, death multiplies" (Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian). Basically, every loss seems to come flooding back to you at every funeral, so it's like you're going to every funeral at once. The thing is, though, I can't imagine how Dan felt. I cannot imagine the pain of losing my father, I cannot imagine the weight of having it so close to my birthday, and I cannot imagine handling it as well as he has.
      Kaylin was going to cancel the cake because he needed her, and there was no time for us to meet up. They decided, however, to still have the birthday party because there was no point sitting and wallowing at home, you know? That's why, on Wednesday, I began planning the cake again and I didn't get that puppy done until 2 p.m. on Saturday when I had to leave for work. All prep work got done on Friday, and I put it all together on Saturday. Miracle work! I ran out of room on the front so I put the batman logo on the back with a "gotham city" cut out skyline (to cover some ugly fondant work).

Alot of talk, so here are some pictures:

Back of the Cake, seen above

Sewer Lid: Printout of Sewer glue to Poster Board

The Ninja turtles were made of marshmallow fondant and their pupils were wilton's edible marker.

The legos were also mm fondant; I mixed the colors, rolled them out in sheets, then cut them into semi-even lines. I cut my first "lego" and used that as a template for the size of the rest. 

TO make the LEGO wall: I rolled out a white piece of fondant as the base, and used egg whites as an adhesive. Lay the legos in a color pattern, egg white-ing them to the white base. When complete, wiggle into place on the cake (I had chocolate frosting on the cake already and it attached to this. I made a smaller one on the base of the cake, adding circles of fondant to look like the tops of the legos and attached that as well. I then rolled out and placed on one big piece of (very lumpy, whoops!! Ran out of time to fix that) fondant and then took a kitchen knife, feeling the legos underneath, and "peeled back" the outer layer. Careful not to peel too far and show the cake. 

I hope this inspire you to mix and match your own favorite characters. If you like it, it should all be on one cake, dangit.