Making a 3-D monkey cake requires a deft hand with cake decorating tools.
The serving of the birthday cake is one of the highlights of any child's birthday party. The anticipation of the cake being brought out and the blowing out of the candles is a memorable event. Making a special cake shaped like an animal, such as a 3-D monkey, takes an ordinary yellow or chocolate cake from just memorable to unforgettable. Using your favorite cake batter and buttercream frosting recipes, ordinary kitchen utensils and some creative frosting techniques, you can make a 3-D monkey cake in a few steps. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a large ovenproof glass bowl and two cups of a large muffin pan with butter using a paper towel. Sprinkle some cake flour in the bowl and swirl it around. Pour the excess flour off.
3. Fill the two muffin cups in the muffin pan about two-thirds full with cake batter. Pour the remaining cake batter into the buttered dish.
4. Bake the muffins for 30 minutes. Use a wooden skewer to test each cupcake center -- the skewer should come out clean when inserted. Bake the cake for about 90 minutes. Test the cake with the skewer. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, if necessary. Allow the cupcakes and cake to cool for 30 minutes before removing cake from bowl by inverting onto a large cardboard cake round. Place cake and cupcakes in a refrigerator for two hours to chill.
5. Place the cake on a cake decorating turntable. Trim the bottom, flat part of the cake to eliminate uneven spots. Mark where you wish to make your cut and insert toothpicks about 3 inches apart all the way around the cake. Make small cuts with a long knife all the way around evenly, turning the cake as you go. Once you have cut all the way around, make the cuts deeper. Continue until you have cut all the way through. Repeat the process to cut the cake in half horizontally. Trim the muffin tops to level cupcakes. Trim 1/4 inch from the side of each cupcake.
6. Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting on the bottom layer of the cake. Replace the top layer. Create flat spots using the knife at about 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock on the cake -- this is where the cupcakes with rest. Spread a layer of chocolate buttercream frosting over the entire cake. Frost the cupcakes and set them against the cake in the proper positions to form the monkey's ears.
7. Place a small, round cake decorating tip into a pastry bag. Fill the pastry bag with remaining chocolate frosting and squeeze to remove excess air from bag. Pipe little dots all the way around the edge of the cake bottom. Remove frosting, switch cake decorating tip to a multipurpose tip, add frosting back to pastry bag, squeeze and remove air and pipe hair on top of the monkey head.
8. Place a large, plain decorating tip into another pastry bag. Add the yellow frosting and squeeze to remove air, Pipe a large oval near the front of near the cake and fill with frosting for the monkey's muzzle. Spread frosting with icing spatula. Switch bags and pipe two small vertical lines for a nose and along horizontal line for the mouth inside the yellow oval. Insert two malted milk balls into cake for eyes.
9. Pipe the yellow frosting half circles in the front of the ears and fill with frosting. Spread frosting evenly with spatula.
Tags: cake decorating, cake batter, squeeze remove, buttercream frosting, cake from, chocolate frosting, decorating into