Decorative Cakes Recipes -  Cat Napping Cake

Ingredients

• 20 cm/8 inch round fruit cake

• 125 g/4 oz apricot jam, boiled

• icing sugar for dusting

• 675 g/1 1/2lb marzipan

• 1.5 kg/3 lb ready-to-roll icing:

• 650 g/1lb 6 oz pale brown,

• 325 g/12 oz black,

• 225 g/8 oz ivory,

• 125 g/4 oz bottle green,

• 50 g/2 oz white

• food colors: brown, black, cream, green, pale pink

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Method:

1. Trim the cake to an oval. Brush all over with the apricot jam. Dust a work surface with icing sugar, roll out the marzipan and use to cover the cake . Place on the board and leave to dry.

2. Roll out a quarter of the pale brown icing and cover the top of the cake . Roll out the rest of the brown icing into a strip long enough to encircle the cake. Indent with the basket weave rolling pin, then stick around the sides of the cake, attaching with a little water; trim. Knead the trimmings together and roll out two long sausages. Twist them together and stick around the top of the cake.

3. Knead and roll out the ivory icing, dampen the cake board and drape the icing around the basket. Trim off any excess.

4. Using half of the black icing, make a teardrop shape for the cat's body and stick on top of the cake. Make a tapering sausage shape for the tail and attach to the body. Make two shorter sausage shapes for the paws and attach. Roll a large ball for the cat's head, stick in place and add two triangles for ears.

5. Using the white icing, add a little to the end of the cat's tail and paws, using the fishbone tool to blend and mark. Make the features for the cat's face from the white icing, then color the trimmings pink and make the nose and inner ears. Paint the eyes.

6. Roll out the green icing and mark the quilted pattern with the fishbone tool. Trim to a rectangle and stick to the top of the cake with a little water.