Wise owl birthday cake
Ingredients
For the vanilla sponge
a.. 350 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
b.. 350 g caster sugar
c.. 6 large eggs, beaten
d.. 2 tsp vanilla extract
e.. 350 g plain flour
f.. 5 tsp baking powder
g.. 4-5 tbsp milk, at room temperature
For the chocolate fudge frosting
a.. 350 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
b.. 225 g unsalted butter
c.. 225 ml milk
d.. 1 tsp vanilla extract
e.. 450 g icing sugar, sifted
For the decoration
a.. chocolate buttons, in different sizes
b.. chocolate vermicelli sprinkles
c.. 1 flaked chocolate bar
d.. 1 toffee-filled chocolate bar
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Method
1.. For the sponge: preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Grease two 23cm round
springform cake tins with butter and line the bases with greased baking
parchment.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale, light and
fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Very gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well
between each addition and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula from
time to time. Stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Sift together the plain flour and baking powder and add to the cake
mixture in two batches, mixing until smooth. Add the milk and mix until smooth.
4. Divide the mixture between the prepared cake tins. Bake on the middle
shelf of the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into
the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins
for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack. Turn the cakes the
right way up and leave to cool completely.
5. For the frosting: melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof
bowl set over a pan of barley simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl
touch the water). Stir until melted and smooth, then set aside to cool
slightly.
6. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla extract and icing
sugar until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.
Leave the frosting to set and thicken up slightly before use.
7. To decorate: level the tops of the cakes with a sharp knife if
necessary. Place one cake on a serving plate or board and spread the cut
surface with about 3 tablespoons of frosting. Cover with the other cake layer,
cut side down. Cover the top and sides of the whole cake with three-quarters of
the remaining frosting, spreading evenly with a palette knife.
8. Arrange the chocolate buttons over the bottom half of the cake to
resemble feathers and cover the top half of the cake with chocolate vermicelli.
Fit a piping bag with a star nozzle, fill the bag with the remaining frosting
and use this to pipe feathers around the owl's face.
9. Position assorted chocolate buttons on top of the sprinkles for the
eyes. Cut the flaked chocolate bar into thin pieces and push into the bottom
edge of the cake to make legs. Cut the toffee bar in half. Slice one half
diagonally into 2 pieces for the wings and push one into each side of the owl.
Cut the remaining toffee bar at an angle to make a beak and position on the
owl's face.
~ Have a nice day & Enjoy the recipes ~
Arlette Arthur
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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