Monkey birthday cake

Each year I invite the family to eat cake to remember our boys birthday.  This year I found a great cake on Smitten Kitchen that was easy to make, had no artificial colourings and was delicious to eat.  I loved the cheeky look on Deb's cake.  Mine looked more like those introspective characters on Planet of the Apes.  I needed a larger forehead and smaller eyes.  Nevertheless it was a fun cake.

My family came over for lunch.  We had sausage rolls, smoky pumpkin dip with crudites and chips, zucchini fritters (thanks mum), apple cake, caramel fudge, watermelon, strawberries and pineapple.  I got to use my new three tier plate.  And there was the monkey cake.  The kids played shops and threw a ball around with my dad in the backyard.  Sylvia amused us by wearing her new fluro-pink halloweeen socks on her hands.  Grace discussed plans for her birthday cake.  Maddy did cartwheels in the front yard.  Everyone loved the cake.

How to make a monkey cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I used:

• 1 x Jill Dupleix Flourless Chocolate Cake (baked in a 20cm round cake tin the previous day)
• 1 x white chocolate frosting (see below)
• 1 x dark chocolate frosting (see below - I had quite a bit of this leftover)

NB You can use any cake or spreadable frosting / icing.  Deb of Smitten Kitchen used a banana cake and buttercream frosting.  I wanted mine to be gluten free so I made my favourite GF chocolate cake and found frosting to compliment it.  I was really pleased with the frosting which tasted more of chocolate than icing sugar but had a great spreadable consistency once allowed to cool.

1. Bake the cake.  Make the icing and leave it to cool.  Trace the cake tin and draw a monkey face on the circle.  If you are like me, you might need a few attempts.

2. Cut out the monkey face shape and use the paper face to cut the shape from your cake, using a sharp knife.  NB the cake it quite crumbly so you need to take some care here.  Brush away as many crumbs as possible with a pastry brush and wipe the plate clean.

3. Place your paper monkey face over the cake and use a sharp skewer to trace the outline of the lighter brown part of the face.  Take the paper away and use a sharp knife to draw the outline so it is clear to see.

4. Spread the white chocolate frosting over the middle shape, being careful to stay within the outlines you made with the sharp knife in step 3.

5. Spread the dark chocolate frosting on the rest of the face and around the edges.  My plate got quite messy with icing so I took a wet cloth and carefully wiped around the outline of the cake on the plate to clean it up.

6. Use a skewer or tip of a sharp knife to draw the face on the monkey.  Put a few spoonfuls of frosting in a plastic ziplock bag and snip a tiny corner to make an easy piping bag.  Pipe the eyes, nose and mouth on the face.  Don't try and be clever and put a white middle of the eye on the monkey and then take it off and try and even up the icing with a skewer.  Then pipe an outline between the white chocolate frosting and the dark to cover up any gaps.

See other novelty cakes on Green Gourmet Giraffe.

Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Christmas Cooking with Kids by Annie Rigg

White Chocolate Frosting

40g white chocolate
25g butter
25ml milk
45g icing sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp cocoa powder, sifted

Dark Chocolate Frosting

120g dark chocolate
75g butter
75ml milk
135g icing sugar, sifted

Melt chocolate and butter in a small bowl in the microwave (or in a small saucepan on the stovetop).  Set aside.  Stir together the milk, icing sugar and cocoa powder (if using).  Mix in the chocolate butter mixture and let cool until it is spreading consistency.  I put mine in the freezer to cool it quickly.  The recipe suggests 30 minutes cooling time.

On the Stereo:
Dozing at the Knick: Grateful Dead