Flamingo Cake

This is the way to make a flamingo themed cake. A friend of mine* and I made this for a bachelorette party and everyone loved it.

*Thanks to Kathrin

Here is what you need:

- three layers of cake (You can use this recipe)

- 2 big tbs of jam

-2 cups/ 400g butter

- 5 cups/ 500g powdered sugar

- fondant

- food coloring

- two pieces of white and dark chocolate

tools:

- a bowl

- a spatula

- a big knife

- a plate or a turntable for the cake

- two bowls

- a cake platter

-I didn´t take pictures of what you need, sorry for that.-

Everything works a bit smoother if you prepare these things in advance.

The cake layers: make these on evening before you make the cake so they can completely cool. Make sure to cover them with something, that they won´t dry out.

The butter: leave the butter on the counter overnight so that it is smooth and ready to use. Popping it into the microwave seems like a good idea at first but later you will find it to be to soft and with a different colour once it hardens again.

To make the butter creme put 2 cups of butter and 5 cups of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Mix it until it has a smooth consistency

You need about 3/5 of it for the layers and 2/5 of it for the outside.

Put the first layer of cake on a plate and add some butter creme. Spread it around the whole surface. Add a big spoonful of jam. I used homemade blackcurrant jam. Spread that over the butter creme but leave about 1cm/0,4inch at the edge.

Repeat this step for the next layer.

Make sure you put the last layer upside down on top of the last layer of jam that you get an even top. Spread some more butter creme onto the top.

Add the rest of the butter creme around the cake. When you put the cake on a big plate you can turn it just like a cake turntable.

I use a big knife to smooth the butter creme. Clean the knife after some time. If it is not perfect yet it´s no problem just put the cake into the fridge and let it sit for about 20 minutes. The butter gets harder and you can straighten out all "imperfections".

Now it´s time to put the cake on a nice cake plate.

Get your fondant ready and put some aside for the dots. Put some powdered sugar on your clean tabletop. Roll the fondant out make sure it´s not too thin otherwise the legs will look awkward.

To make the flamingo body and wings we decided to use two different sized shapes from a heart.

Cut out a heart and cut it in half. Form the half heart like picture 3. Do the same with the smaller heart shape. Put them over each other (see picture 5). To make the neck and the feet take a small chunk of fondant and roll it out into thin stings. Depending on the size of the body make the feet and neck bigger or smaller. To make the head just press down the top a bit and squeeze it into a beak.

For the top of the cake you need one really big flamingo. It is made with the same technique.

Put everything together (Picture 5) to make sure that they´ll stick together you can glue them together.

Once you have made the flamingos you need to add them to the cake . You can use baking glue (which might be expensive) or you can make your own eatable glue. Just take one tbs of powdered sugar and add as much lemon juice until you get a gluey consistency.

I have done this in a little bowl that I put in the oven on side the dark chocolate and on the other the white chocolate because you really son´t need much and it would be to much work to make a bain-marie for that.

Melt the white chocolate. Use a toothpick to put a little iris on each flamingo. Now melt the dark chocolate and once the white chocolate drops are dry give the flamingos pupils.

Use food colouring to colour in the fondant. Kneal it really good that you get an even colour. Roll it out and cut out little circles. I used a measuring cup for that. You can cut the circles in half and put them on the bottom as well (like on picture 4). Glue the dots around the cake.

There you go a -Flamingo Cake-

*Thanks again to Kathrin for your help!*