This is a large cake with loads of detail but not too hard to make if taken step by step. If you only have one cake tin you can cut layers down from the largest size and don’t worry about waste as we making use of all the cut offs. If you want to make a smaller version of the basket just follow the same steps using cake layers of 18, 20, 20 and 25cm (7, 8, 8 and 10in). You are making a carved cake with an inverse slope so you need to use a densely structured cake such as madeira or a Genoese sponge for the best results.
Click the April 2019 Cake Decoration & Sugarcraft front cover to find the rest of the tutorial:
Easter Egg Basket: Bunny
YOU WILL NEED
FOR THE BUNNY:
2kg sugarpaste: white
Rainbow Dust Progel colours: black, blue and red
Rice Krispie Treat
EQUIPMENT:
paint brush
wire (about 16 gague)
pliers
palette knife
knife or scalpel
sharp knife for carving.
pastry brush
large rolling pin
rolling pin
veining tool
straight edge tool
ball tool
dowels
1 Compress some Rice Krispie Treat (RKT) to form a chunky boomerang shape. It should be about 10 cm wide.
2 Add a mound of RKT as shown and compress to form a shape about 8cm high.
3 Using the ball tool create two indentations to prepare for the eyes.
4 Compress some more RKT to form the body shape, 11cm wide and 11cm tall.
5 Together the two shapes will be forming the structure for the bunny.
6 Use your carving knife to lightly trim the RKT and get rid of lumps and bumps.
7 The surface doesn’t have to be perfect but will make covering much easier.
8 A combination of trimming and compressing will make the shapes smooth enough.
9 Spread ganache over the shapes and allow to set.
10 Use some sugar syrup or water to brush over the chocolate. This will smooth it as well as act as a glue.
11 Add two slugs of sugarpaste over the eye shapes. This is a great way to finesse the shapes you are working on. It also allows you to keep working on shapes and indentations once the final layer of sugarpaste is applied.
12 Also add some sugarpaste to the nose and mouth area.
13 Now roll out some white sugarpaste and cover the whole shape.
14 Smooth over with your hands including the underside, until there is no ganache showing.
15 Use the ball tool to define the eye areas.
16 Use the Dresden tool to impress a vertical line up to the nose area.
17 And also create the curved indentation below.
18 Use your fingers to smooth the lines and define the area for the mouth.
19 Mock up a nose with a bit of fondant to help you see whether the shapes look good.
20 With the Dresden tool draw on the mouth and indent each side.
21 Push in at each side with the Dresden tool to enhance the smile.
22 Meanwhile adhere the body section to the cake board with a little ganache. Brush with water or sugar syrup and cover with sugarpaste. You can leave some excess around the sides for stability.
23 Insert two dowels in the neck.
24 Glue the neck and push the head down firmly onto the dowels so that it is secure. Add a ball of sugarpaste below the mouth and shape to form a chin.
25 Once you are happy with the shape roll out a strip of sugarpaste wide enough to cover the cheeks, chin and nose and smooth over the whole area.
26 Carefully trim around the cheeks and down to the neck.
27 Use the Dresden tool to pick out and reinforce all the details you created beneath. You should now have a flawless finish.
28 Use the Dresden tool and veining tool to create fur effects above each cheek at the seam.
29 Pinch the ends to make them stand out a little.
30 Add two balls of white sugarpaste into the eye sockets.
31 Use the ball tool to outline the space for the irises.
32 Add a ball of soft black sugarpaste.
33 Use the ball tool to push the black out to the shape you created.
34 Do the same with blue and allow a tiny rim of black to remain visible around the edges.
35 Glue a couple of black eyelashes to either side.
36 Using a rolled strip of black, roll to a point at each end and adhere to frame the top of each eye meeting the eyelashes.
37 Add two black eyebrows, white dots for eye highlights and a small amount of black mixed with red to denote the inner mouth.
38 Push the dark sugarpaste around to fill the mouth shape that you have already created.
39 Then add a roughly heart-shaped piece of red for the tongue. Use the veining tool to create the vertical indent.
40 For the finishing touches of the face add a small ball of pink pinched into a triangle for the nose and a rectangle of white for the teeth.
41 For each ear roll 100g of white and 40g pink into a ball, then taper to form a cone. Flatten and roll out gently with a rolling pin. Keep the fat end thicker than the thin end.
42 Brush with water and stick the two together.
43 Arrange from the top of the head and stick firmly. Sugar syrup acts as a really strong glue as does a thick paste made with sugarpaste and water. To help the ears stick firmly you can insert a couple of small dowels or trimmed cocktail sticks to the top of the head which gives the ears more to adhere to. Support the weight by adhering the ear part way down to the body as well as the top and hold in place until it stays in place.
Be sure to pick up your April 2019 issue of Cake Decoration & Sugarcraft to find out how to create the rest of this gorgeous cake!
