B E F O R E Y O U S T A R T , Y O U ' L L N E E D :
- 2 slices of bread (for the ears and bowtie)
- black licorice straps or shoelaces
- small red licorice circle for bow tie, or you could use a smartie instead
- a sharp pair of scissors or a small, sharp knife
- baking paper for stencilling puppy's nose
- a cake
- buttercream icing and 50g melted dark chocolate or 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
H O W T O A S S E M B L E A P U P P Y C A K E :
1. Using your slices of bread, cut out 2 long oval shapes for the ears. I had a bit left over, so made a little bow tie too. Grill these in the oven until golden brown, you'll need to keep an eye on the little bows, as they will toast more quickly than the ears!
2. Remove toast from the oven and set aside.
3. Using sharp scissors or a knife, cut out eyes, nose and mouth from the licorice sheet. It sometimes helps to set it all out on the cake (or the cake tin even!) to get an idea of scale and how big to make things.
4. It's time to ice your cake! Place first cake on a cake board or plate (if you're planning on moving it, then some baking paper underneath is a good idea- just watch out it doesn't slip around when you move it).
5. Mix 3/4 of the melted chocolate in with the buttercream, and stir until it is combined.
Scoop about 2 Tbsp of icing into a small bowl and set this aside (this is for the nose) and keep the remaining chocolate somewhere warm until you need it again.
6. Ice cakes together by spreading a layer of buttercream on first cake, and then placing second cake on top. Then spread icing all over the top of cake and sides if you wish. Place in the fridge to harden while you cut out your nose shape.
7. Cut out an oval out of baking paper (about 14 x 9 cms for an 8" cake, or a size that is a good fit for your cake- you can test it out on the top of your cake. Then, mix remaining icing and chocolate together to make a smooth icing.
8. Place baking paper over bottom half of cake (to make the nose and mouth area) and gently smooth darker icing over the area before slowly peeling off to reveal a chocolate oval.
9. Finally, place your ears, eyes, nose, mouth and bow tie on to complete your cake. We iced our bowtie, but this is totally optional. You could also use ice cream wafers to cut out 2 triangles to make a bow.
