How to Make an Elephant Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Sculpted Cake
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 50
 
A sculpted elephant cake
Ingredients
  • For the elephant:
  • 200g butter
  • 800g mini marshmallows
  • 650g rice bubbles (krispies)
  • coconut oil
  • For the ganache:
  • 250g dark cooking chocolate, chopped
  • ⅓ cup cream
  • For the fondant:
  • Non-stick sugar powder
  • 1kg Menina grey fondant
  • Short length of coconut wire
  • 1sp tylose
  • For the cake (Donna Hay melt-and-mix white chocolate cake):
  • 1kg (2lb) butter, chopped
  • 4 cups (2 pints) milk
  • 8 cups caster (superfine) sugar
  • 600g (20 oz) white chocolate, chopped
  • 8 cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
  • 1½ tbspns baking powder
  • 1 tbspn vanilla extract
  • 8 eggs
  • For the ganache:
  • 500g dark cooking chocolate, chopped
  • ⅔ cup pouring cream
  • To decorate the cake:
  • 1 x large rectangular cake board (I used 40cm x 60cm)
  • Non-stick sugar powder
  • 2kg Menina dark green fondant
  • 1kg Menina navy blue fondant
  • Vodka
  • 5g jewel moss green edible glitter
  • 5g sapphire blue edible glitter
  • edible glue
  • 5 x flakes
Instructions
  1. For the elephant:
  2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.
  3. Add marshmallows and stir constantly over heat until melted.
  4. Remove from heat and add rice bubbles in several batches until well stirred.
  5. When cool enough to handle, grease hands with coconut oil. then press down on mixture until well compacted.
  6. Shape into a basic elephant shape as shown.
  7. Place in fridge until firm (a few hours or overnight).
  8. Using a knife (we used a serrated Leatherman knife), shape mixture into an elephant.
  9. For the ganache:
  10. Stir chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat until combined and glossy.
  11. Cover elephant with ganache to give an even covering and help smooth the surface. Allow to set.
  12. For the fondant:
  13. Sprinkle surface of bench with non-stick sugar powder.
  14. Knead fondant until silky smooth.
  15. Roll out until around 4mm thickness.
  16. Poke the wire into the elephant's backside to make the tail.
  17. Wrap fondant around elephant and the wire.
  18. Gently rub the fondant into position around the elephant.
  19. Rub tylose into a small amount of remaining fondant. (The tylose will harden the fondant).
  20. Roll out and cut out two shapes for the ears. Stick onto cake with edible glue and pin into place with sewing pins until dry (leave overnight).
  21. Using a ballpoint pen, (with the point retracted), mark eyes and other facial features (like details in ears) and wrinkles onto elephant as shown.
  22. For the cake:
  23. Preheat oven to 160C (325F).
  24. Place the butter, milk, sugar and chocolate in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until smooth.
  25. Place the flour, baking powder, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl.
  26. Add the chocolate mixture and use an electric hand mixer to mix until smooth.
  27. Line tin with non-stick baking paper.
  28. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 2 hrs 20 minutes or until cake is cooked when tested with a skewer.
  29. Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.
  30. Take a small quantity of fondant and mix with a little water until sticky.
  31. Place on cake board to ensure cake sticks to the board.
  32. Level the top of cake as required then place cake upside down on the cake board.
  33. For the ganache:
  34. Stir chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat until combined and glossy.
  35. Cover cake in ganache.
  36. Allow to harden.
  37. Use a knife to mark out the position of the swimming pool.
  38. To decorate the cake:
  39. Sprinkle surface of bench with non-stick sugar powder.
  40. Knead dark green fondant until silky smooth.
  41. Roll out until around 5mm thickness.
  42. Cover over all of cake except for area designated for the swimming pool.
  43. Knead navy blue fondant then roll out until 5mm thickness.
  44. Cover over remaining cake.
  45. Smooth fondant over cake.
  46. Lightly brush cake with Vodka.
  47. Sprinkle green glitter over 'grass' and blue glitter over the 'water'.
  48. Trim flakes to make 'pool edging' then set into position with edible glue.
  49. Place elephant on top of cake.
Recipe by Hotly Spiced at http://hotlyspiced.com/how-to-make-an-elephant-cake/