For the Sushi Cake, you will need:

3 boxed cake mixes (any flavor-Make sure two are the same because you are going to make two for the large cake base)
6-8 Cups of butter cream frosting (amount will depend upon how thick you frost the cakes & how much décor you add to the base layer)
1 cup of fondant (I bought the prepared fondant in a box from a local craft store)
Red, Orange, Green & Black Food Coloring
Orange sprinkles
White round sprinkles (small size)
2 cups of coconut
1 package of large marshmallows (you will probably only need 6 to 8 at the very most)
1 box of Swiss Cake rolls (chocolate cake with white crème filling)
1 box of Yellow Swiss cake rolls (yellow cake with crème filling)
1 box of fruit roll-ups-any color
Gummy candies or gum drops or dried fruit (chopped into small pieces)
1 pair of chopsticks
11x17x2 baking pan
1 piece of 1/8 inch thick aluminum sheeting from a hardware store or 1/8-1/4 inch cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil and cut 8x11 inches
Waxed Paper
Aluminum Foil
Various frosting tips for decorating edge of cake base

Butter Cream Frosting:

1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 cups powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.

When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. Makes about 6 cups of frosting.

Base Cake:

Prepare 2 boxed cake mixes together for the base layer of cake. Pour the batter into a well-greased 11 X 17 X 2 inch pan and bake per boxed instructions.

Let cake cool completely. Turn out onto your choice of substrate. I used a plain white leftover cardboard cake platter. Frost cake with white butter cream frosting and pipe a border of your choice around edge (I used a lime green border).

Sushi Platter Cake:

Prepare 3rd boxed cake mix and pour the batter into a well-greased 11 X 17 X 2 inch pan and bake per boxed instructions. The cake should be thin (about 1 and ½ inches thick after baking) like a jelly roll-style. Let cake cool completely. Turn out onto waxed paper.

Lay the piece of aluminum on the thin unfrosted cake and cut the cake into the same size as the piece of aluminum. Cut 2 additional pieces measuring 7 X 2 inches from the thin cake. These pieces will be for the platter legs.

Bend the cardboard or aluminum into a curve lengthwise to form the platter. Place the two leg pieces on the cake and frost with frosting in your choice of color. I tinted the frosting with some of the black food coloring so it would look like wood. Lay the sheet of aluminum on top of the legs. Place the thin piece of cake onto the aluminum. Frost the entire platter, sides, and bottom.

Shrimp Sushi:

Mix ¼ cup of fondant with a few drops of red food coloring and knead until ‘marbled’. This will give the shrimp a more realistic look. Shape small pieces of the fondant into shrimps using toothpicks to push ‘scales’ into the final shape. Set aside on wax paper.

Cut a large marshmallow in half lengthwise. Use white frosting to ‘glue’ the two ends together forming a long ½ roll shape. Frost entire shape in frosting and roll in coconut.

Lay shrimp on top of coconut-covered marshmallow shape. Cut a thin piece of fruit roll up (any color) and ‘paint’ with a small amount of black food coloring. Let dry & then wrap around shrimp sushi.

Smoked Salmon Sushi:

(This is the same method as the shrimp sushi) Cut a large marshmallow in half lengthwise. Use white frosting to ‘glue’ the two ends together forming a long ½ roll shape. Frost entire shape in frosting and roll in coconut.

Mix ¼ cup of fondant with a few drops of red and a few drops of orange food coloring and knead until ‘marbled’. This will give the salmon a more realistic look. Do NOT over-mix! Roll fondant out flat and cut into irregular ¼ to 1/8 inch thick rectangular shapes that will fit onto marshmallow base.

Lay salmon fondant on top of coconut-covered marshmallow shape. Cut a thin piece of fruit roll up (any color) and wrap around salmon sushi.

Chocolate Roll Sushi:

Take a package of chocolate Swiss rolls and cut off ends. Cut into 2 pieces and lay on their side. Sprinkle your choice of coconut or white ball-shaped sprinkles on white creme filling. Push a yellow, green and red piece of gummy-style candy into center of roll. I snipped pieces of gummy bears, but you can use gum drops, too. Repeat until you have 6 rolls total.

White-Rolled Sushi:

Take a package of yellow cake Swiss Rolls and cut off ends. Cut into 2 pieces and frost sides with white frosting and roll in coconut. Sprinkle your choice of coconut or white ball-shaped sprinkles on white creme filling. Push a yellow, green and red piece of gummy-style candy into center of roll. I snipped pieces of gummy bears, but you can use gum drops, too. Repeat until you have 6 rolls total.

Long Roll of White Sushi with Orange Sprinkles:

Using one yellow cake Swiss roll, frost the entire roll with white frosting and roll in coconut. Place on waxed paper and cut into one inch pieces. Sprinkle with orange sprinkles and separate slightly into pieces (it should lay on the platter similar to the photo).

Fruit Roll-Up Colorful Sushi Rolls:

Take a package of yellow cake Swiss Rolls and cut off ends. Cut into 2 pieces and cut a piece of fruit roll-up the same height as the Swiss roll. Wrap the fruit roll up around the Swiss cake roll. The fruit roll will be sticky and will stay in place.

Sprinkle cake roll with coconut and push a yellow, green and red piece of gummy-style candy into center of roll. I snipped pieces of gummy bears, but you can use gum drops, too. Repeat until you have 6 rolls total.

Wasabi:

Mix a golf-ball amount of fondant with a few drops of green food coloring. Knead well so that it is not marbled. Shape fondant into ‘wasabi’ shape of your choice.

Ginger:

Mix a golf-ball amount of fondant with a few drops of red food coloring. Knead well so that it is not marbled. Roll into a ball and using a sharp knife, cut off very thin slices of the fondant. Shape the slices loosely into a mass mimicking peeled ginger.

To Assemble Sushi onto Platter:

Cut a piece of wax paper into the exact size of the sushi platter (8 X 11 inches) & lay on work surface. Arrange sushi and the ginger and wasabi on the wax paper to make sure that all the pieces will fit into the size configuration BEFORE arranging them on the actual cake.

Some sushi may not fit, and you may just want to make certain your layout is exactly what you want BEFORE you put it onto the actual cake. Place pieces onto actual cake platter in the same arrangement you have made on the waxed paper.

***Tip: I had extra sushi pieces that would not fit on the platter. I arranged them on the larger cake base as additional garnish and it worked out perfectly!

Chopsticks:

Using an inexpensive pair of chopsticks, dip ends into frosting and roll in orange sprinkles. Lay the chopsticks on top of the platter and you are Finished!