This is more an idea than a cake. You will need to bake a cake first or buy one – about 20cm across. Any flavour will do but given it is Halloween soon maybe you might fancy adding lime marmalade as a slimey filling. Or colour the cake with purple and green food colouring. Or not. Your call. (Cakes such as this one or this one would be perfect).
These marshmallow monsters went down extremely well with my cake and treat loving sons (2 out of the 3). They were removed from the cake when my back was turned and snaffled. I think that’s a very good sign for any novelty cake. (Do excuse the poor quality phone snaps, I had to rush off to the Countryfile Live show so didn’t get any photos taken properly).
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum and The Power of Frozen.
One year ago: Sweet illusion cake, Chocolate collar cake and Maakouda.
Two years ago: Sweet potato and mushroom chilli, Toffee apples, Peach, tea and white chocolate traybake, Milk, tea and honey cupcakes, Chocolate lime pinata cake, Chorizo, kale and roast potato traybake, Quinoa veggie burgers, Thai turkey lettuce cups, Cucumber salad and Blackberry and pear crumble.
Three years ago: Lemon cheesecake, Ginger and Caramac version, Peanut butter pie with an Oreo crust, Double chocolate pecan pie and salted caramel traybake, a Traditional Christmas pud and Parkin for Bonfire night
Four years ago: Chocolate hazelnut truffles and Delicious microwave Christmas pud
Five years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes, Christmas pudding fizz, Brandy butter icing and my Lemon drizzle secrets
Six years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry, Christmas scones, Ginger cake with gingerbread Christmas cottage, Bonfire night treacle toffee flapjack and My festive take on cheesecake
Seven years ago: Moonuts, Cheese biscuits, Parsnip soup and a Steamed cherry and pecan pudding
Monster Mash Drip Cake
Serves 12
Ingredients:
- 1 x 20cm cake
- 1x 250g pack ready-to-roll black icing
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 250g icing sugar, sieved
- 175mls double cream
- 350g white chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp Dr Oetker lime green gel food colouring
- 3 x jumbo marshmallows
- 4 x white marshmallows
- 3 x mini marshmallows
- 50g white fondant icing
- 6 x Tesco white shimmer pearls
- black gel food colouring
Put the butter into a bowl and gradually beat in the icing sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon until well combined. Add a tablespoon or two of water to loosen if you wish. Beat for about 10 minutes by hand (or less using a mixer) until light, fluffy and flecked with air bubbles.
Put the bought/made cake (must be cold, not warm from the oven) on a plate or cake stand. If it’s a layered cake then fix the layers together with jam and/or a little of the buttercream icing. Spread the remaining icing over the cake (including the sides) and smooth with a palette knife. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hrs, until firm. (If you have any buttercream leftover then you can freeze for up to a month).
Roll the black icing between two sheets of non stick baking paper, into a circle large enough to drape over the cake and fit all the ways down the sides. Move over the cake, press down with your hands and smooth to the sides. Use a sharp knife to trim the base and tuck any icing underneath. Then smooth using a cake smoother or yours hands (thought this will given a slightly less uniform finish). Chill in the fridge again. NB: Ensure the cake is well chilled before you begin adding any ganache. (This helps to ensure the drips don’t travel too far down the cake).
Make the chocolate ganache drip icing by scalding the double cream over a medium heat in a saucepan until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes before stirring through the white chocolate and green gel food colouring. Stir until all of the white chocolate has melted, then leave to cool at room temperature. Test the ganache to check it’s ready to pour by using a teaspoon and pouring a small amount onto the edge of the top of the cake (do this on the least well finished side in case it’s still too runny). If the drip very slowly works its way down the cake and stops at the top or half way down then it’s ready. Carefully spoon (or pipe) ganache around the edge of the top of the cake then fill in the top of the cake with more ganache. Leave to set.
Make monsters from the marshmallows by placing them circular side down onto non-stick baking parchment and pouring ganache over the top. For the larger and medium sized marshmallows make eyes using white fondant icing and the black gel food colouring. For the smaller marshmallows use white shimmer pearls and a tiny dot of black gel food colouring. Leave the monsters to set before carefully moving them to the top of the drip cake using a fish slice, bread scraper or palate knife. If you have any ganache left over you could use it to add extra slime to the cake and display stand.
Tips:
- Be careful not to pour the ganache whilst it’s too warm or it will melt the fondant icing and cover the cake completely – it won’t have any drips!
- Add a little more or less food colouring to make a more muted or vibrant green ganache. Don’t be tempted to use water based food colouring as it will likely split the ganache.
- If you don’t have black gel food colouring you can make pupils using ready to roll black fondant icing or Tesco chocolate writing icing.
- For an extra slimy monster cake you could make more ganache and after the first ‘drip’ leave the cake to set and add another drip over the top.
- You could make extra marshmallow monsters if you’re having a Halloween party; serve them as they are or make kebabs by skewering fruit along with monster marshmallows.
- Leftover ganache? Cover and chill until almost set hard and then form into white chocolate truffle balls. Roll in chopped nuts, sprinkles, popping candy or cocoa.
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Holly Bell 