How to Make an Elephant Cake
Author: Charlie Louie
Recipe type: Sculpted Cake
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 50
- 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
- For the elephant:
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.
- Add marshmallows and stir constantly over heat until melted.
- Remove from heat and add rice bubbles in several batches until well stirred.
- When cool enough to handle, grease hands with coconut oil. then press down on mixture until well compacted.
- Shape into a basic elephant shape as shown.
- Place in fridge until firm (a few hours or overnight).
- Using a knife (we used a serrated Leatherman knife), shape mixture into an elephant.
- For the ganache:
- Stir chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat until combined and glossy.
- Cover elephant with ganache to give an even covering and help smooth the surface. Allow to set.
- For the fondant:
- Sprinkle surface of bench with non-stick sugar powder.
- Knead fondant until silky smooth.
- Roll out until around 4mm thickness.
- Poke the wire into the elephant's backside to make the tail.
- Wrap fondant around elephant and the wire.
- Gently rub the fondant into position around the elephant.
- Rub tylose into a small amount of remaining fondant. (The tylose will harden the fondant).
- 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).
- Using a ballpoint pen, (with the point retracted), mark eyes and other facial features (like details in ears) and wrinkles onto elephant as shown.
- For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 160C (325F).
- Place the butter, milk, sugar and chocolate in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until smooth.
- Place the flour, baking powder, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl.
- Add the chocolate mixture and use an electric hand mixer to mix until smooth.
- Line tin with non-stick baking paper.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 2 hrs 20 minutes or until cake is cooked when tested with a skewer.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.
- Take a small quantity of fondant and mix with a little water until sticky.
- Place on cake board to ensure cake sticks to the board.
- Level the top of cake as required then place cake upside down on the cake board.
- For the ganache:
- Stir chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat until combined and glossy.
- Cover cake in ganache.
- Allow to harden.
- Use a knife to mark out the position of the swimming pool.
- To decorate the cake:
- Sprinkle surface of bench with non-stick sugar powder.
- Knead dark green fondant until silky smooth.
- Roll out until around 5mm thickness.
- Cover over all of cake except for area designated for the swimming pool.
- Knead navy blue fondant then roll out until 5mm thickness.
- Cover over remaining cake.
- Smooth fondant over cake.
- Lightly brush cake with Vodka.
- Sprinkle green glitter over 'grass' and blue glitter over the 'water'.
- Trim flakes to make 'pool edging' then set into position with edible glue.
- Place elephant on top of cake.
Recipe by Hotly Spiced at http://hotlyspiced.com/how-to-make-an-elephant-cake/
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