Giant Zombie Cupcake

Give your friends a fright with this fun Giant Zombie Cupcake by Laura Loukaides.

This giant cupcake is super fun for a Halloween party and you can make the sponge and buttercream whatever flavour you like!

Giant Zombie Cupcake

You will need: 

For the cake: 

• 1 x cake, baked in the base of a standard Giant Cupcake Tin
• 1 x 15cm (6in) dome/half sphere cake

To decorate:

• buttercream or ganache
• pink sugarpaste
• green sugarpaste
• white sugarpaste (for eyes and additional details)
• black edible colour dust
• red edible colour dust
• piping gel
• red gel food colour
• green gel food colour
• brown gel food colour
• crushed chocolate cookies

Equipment:

• 20cm (8in) or 25cm (10in) cake drum
• 13cm (5in) cake card
• 4 x bubble tea straws or food safe dowels
• ball tool
• dresden tool
• various paintbrushes

Method:

Making the cake layers

1. Begin by baking two separate cakes. The top of the cake can be baked in a 15cm (6in) ovenproof Pyrex bowl (this is the option I used for this tutorial) or in a half sphere cake pan. The base of the cake can either be baked in the base of a standard cupcake tin, or can be carved to shape from a 15cm (6in) cake that is 8cm (3in) deep.
2. Take the base of your cake and flip upside down on your work board. Fill and crumb coat the cake in buttercream or ganache.
3. Use a flat scraper to smooth the frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Set aside.
4. Take your dome cake and begin lightly marking a spiral around the cake, making sure the spiral ends in the centre right on top of the cake. If you’re happy with your marking, begin cutting small 'V' indents around the spiral, gradually getting slightly deeper. Continue carving until each section of the swirl is rounded and defined.
5. Once you’re happy with the shape of your cake, coat with frosting and set aside.

Applying the frosting

1. While the base of your cupcake is still upside down, cover in light green sugarpaste, then carefully flip the cake over and transfer to a sugarpaste covered cake board. Next, mark evenly spaced vertical lines around the cake using a dresden tool.

Stacking the cake

1. Push 4 bubble tea straws or food safe dowels into the top of the cake and cut away the excess with a clean pair of scissors.
2. Add a thin layer of buttercream, then place a 13cm (5in) cake card on top.
3. Cover the cupcake swirl in pink sugarpaste and carefully place on top of the base cake.
4. Form a thick cone from the remaining pink sugarpaste and place on top the cupcake. Lightly brush the base of the cone with water and blend into the top of the cake using the flat end of a dresden tool.

Adding the finer details

1. To add the face, indent two eyes with a ball tool and mark a sloped mouth with either a dresden tool or sculpting tool.
2. Roll a long wavy band of pink sugarpaste and apply to the base of the swirl using a bit of water. Next, lightly brush the band of sugarpaste with water and blend together.
3. Cut away a section of fondant from the swirl to expose the cake – this can be any shape or size you like.
4. Roll long ropes of light pink sugarpaste and place in the gap in a wavy pattern.
5. Form a zombie cherry from a ball of dark green sugarpaste, then twist a small rope of brown sugarpaste and place on top of the cherry. Place on the cake as shown.
6. Roll and mark tiny ropes of white fondant and place all over the cake to give the impression of maggots or worms.
7. Roll two small balls from white fondant and place in the eye sockets.

Applying the shading

1. Add a small amount of red food gel to a tablespoon of warmed piping gel and paint all over the exposed ‘brain’.
2. Once the fondant is completely dry, lightly add shading to the lines of the cupcake using black edible dusting colour and a dry paintbrush.
3. Continue adding shading until you’re happy with the style. As this is a zombie style cake, you can make some areas much darker for a spookier effect if you like.
4. Lightly brush around the outside of the eyes with red dusting colour.
5. Add more red dusting colour around the mouth to give the effect of blood stain.
6. Crush a few chocolate cookies (white centres removed) and add to the base of the cupcake. Your giant zombie cupcake is complete! This cake can be made in endless styles and colours, inside and out!

To see a full video tutorial for this cake, search Giant Zombie Cupcake on YouTube or visit Laura’s YouTube Channel for more ideas: www.youtube.com/LauraLoukaides.

Find Laura on www.lauraloukaidescakes.co.uk

Give your friends a fright with this fun cake by Laura Loukaides (www.lauraloukaidescakes.co.uk).