This is a super fast cake. I decorated it in 30 minutes. Most people decorate log cakes for Yule cakes during the Christmas season and while it’s wonderful to celebrate Winter with this cake I thought it would also be great to celebrate new life,spring time and Easter with it. Why not make one every equinox?
Log with branch
Take store bought log cake (could use a jellyroll or chocolate like I have here) roll over and slice off about 1/6th of the bottom.
Cut bottom of cake
Cut this piece in half vertically and place on top of each other to form another branch.
Place slice to make branch
Cut a slight diagonal off one end of the branch so it fits snug against the branch and juts out like a branch
Cut a slight diagonal off one end of the log
Chocolate buttercream icing recipe
60 grams of butter at room temperature
1 tbls of milk
1 ¼ cups of chocolate icing sugar (powdered sugar)-sifted
Here in Australia this comes already mixed. If you need to make it up yourself try using 1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar) and ¼ cup of cocoa –sifted together
Either place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined and fluffy, or beat with a wooden spoon to combine then finish with electric whisk.
A more luxury version of buttercream frosting can be found here but use perhaps only half the recipe
Cover with chocolate buttercream icing.
Add chocolate buttercream
Use a nice thick coating
Use a fork to mark out bark like lines on the cake.
Use fork to make bark marks
Birds nest
Melt chocolate in a bowl and break into it “Shredded wheat” type cereal and mix together well.
Shredded wheat cereal
You can use cocoa pops , rice crispies/bubbles etc or other cereal. I just use shredded wheat because it looks more like twigs.
Grease the inside of a ramekin, bowl or mug and form a nest shape in the base. Make sure the base is nice and thick.
Form nest in dish or ramekin
Then put it in the freezer for 10 minutes to speedily set.
Remove nest from container (you may need to stand the container in warm water for 20-30 seconds to help loosen it and perhaps run a knife along the top)
Place the nest in between both branches. I raised mine a little by using the thin wedge I had sliced of in the beginning underneath.
Place nest in between branches
Add candy and/or chocolate eggs to the nest.
Place eggs in nest
I added a “Happy Easter” message from pre-prepared icing letters and a new growth “twig” made from Curly Wurly and a couple of new leaves made from jellies. For those in the US you could pick up a curly wurly up from a British goods shop or use a flake.
The finished Easter cake-log with nest
Of course this cake was put together with speed in mind and it’s totally up to you how much time you would like to put into the decorations.
As suggestions you could add alcohol or flavouring to the cake and/or the icing. Sprinkle some coconut coloured with green food colouring around the base of the cake. Add flowers.
There we have the easy, very fast Easter cake (or spring cake )in around half an hour.
The birds nests we made make fantastic Easter gifts. Make in muffin or fairycake (cupcake) cases. Add a chick and break open one of the eggs. Great fun for kid’s and incredibly easy.
There is an abundance of recipes out there for chocolate ganache. This is by far the easiest I have used as there is no need to pre-melt the chocolate or any other fiddly bits to mess with.
Ganache is the rich shiny chocolate topping used on cakes as a glaze, an icing or frosting or even can be used to make chocolate truffles.
Generally for a normal coating or filling I use:
1 part chocolate (white, plain* or milk)
1 part heavy cream
Small knob of butter (for shine can be omitted)
Chop 200g of your choice of chocolate and place in a bowl.
Place 200ml of cream into a pan and slowly bring to the boil.
pour boiling cream over chocolate
When boiling pour over the chocolate and leave alone for 5 mins.
Add a small knob of melted butter or ½ teaspoon of oil.
After the 5 minutes are up whisk/stir everything in the bowl until fully mixed together.
Chocolate ganache - mix well
Leave to stand a short while until almost cool and it starts to thicken then use as a topping or filling or both.
If allowed to cool completely the texture will be more of a frosting consistency
Simple!
*If you choose to use a chocolate that is more than 60% cocoa mass it will be necessary to use more cream. Between 60-70% cocoa mass around ½ the amount of cream again and over 70% up to ¾ of the amount again.
The easiest Mother’s day cake is made by creating a donut cake. Very young children can make this cake quite easily, with adult supervision and it’s a great and fun way to spend quality time with little kid’s on Mothering Sunday morning while Mom is getting a lie-in.
To make the cake you will need:
2 x 12 packs of basic donuts – we used plain supermarket ones
Take the serving platter or plate you will be using and practice with your donuts to get a good idea of how you will stack them once they are iced with the Ganache chocolate icing.
Brush excess sugar and crumbs from donut
Once you have planned your shape take the donuts one by one and brush off any excess sugar
Dip the donuts into the Ganache until half-coated with the chocolate icing.
Dip donuts in Chocolate ganache frosting
Set aside on a rack while the icing sets on the donuts.
Once the icing is set arrange on the serving platter as planned before.
The donuts will stick together better now they are iced.
Chocolate donut cake
Add your decorations of choice. Here we added pretty ribbon and some fake Frangipani flowers.
