Bumblebee Cake
There’s no sting in this black chocolate cake! Oh summer, how I love thee. Nothing beats basking in the sunshine, hanging out with friends in the great outdoors, and just the general happiness that long bright days bring. That is until bugs start to ruin your party, bees being the biggest culprit! So what’s the easiest way to take the sting out of these menacing insects? Cake one up of course!
This bumbling bug started off as 10lbs of black chocolate cake, stacked up with yellow Italian Meringue Buttercream, and covered in fondant stripes. Some floral wire supported antenna and limbs give our new friend a great lounging position, and to take slight it all gets finished off with sheet gelatin wings!
Ingredients
Cake
- 10lbs Ultimate Chocolate Cake
- Black Gel Food Coloring
Icing
- Simple Syrup
- Yo’s Famous Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Yellow Gel Food Coloring
Decorations
- 3lb Yellow Fondant
- 1lb Black Fondant
- 2 oz White Fondant
- Black Gumpaste
- Leaf Gelatin
- Piping Gel
Read It!
-
Dye your chocolate cake black, divide into pans, and bake at 350 degrees as follows:
2 x 6” round pans- 2lbs batter, 1 hour 30 minutes
2 x 7” round pans- 2.5lbs batter, 1 hour 30 minutes
2 x 8” round pans- 3lbs batter, 1 hour 40 minutes
Allow to cool completely before removing from pans.
-
Level 1 of each your 7” and 8” round cakes, and divide all cakes in half creating 2 layers from each
-
Shower all of your cakes with simple syrup and allow to soak in for a few minutes before proceeding
-
Dye your buttercream yellow, and create 2 stacked cakes as follows:
Body: 7”, 8”, 8”, 7”
Head: 6”, 7”, 7”, 6”
Chill for 20 minutes before proceeding
-
Carve a round top and rounded bottom on both of your cakes, keeping one side flat
-
Crumb coat your cakes in yellow buttercream and chill for 20 mins before icing your cakes in yellow buttercream and chilling for another 20 mins
-
Thinly roll out yellow fondant large enough to drape over each of your cakes, and smooth it in place quickly, gathering excess at the bottom and trimming a clean edge.
-
Roll your your black fondant, and cut equal strips before applying to both of your cakes, using unsecured strips to help with spacing
-
Apply a circle of black fondant to the top of your head cake, and bottom of your body cake
-
Press white fondant into greased half sphere pans, and chill before trimming away excess and releasing. Attach to your cake using piping gel, and add a black fondant pupil along with white fondant catch light. Drape yellow fondant over half of each, and trim to create an eyelid. Finish with an extruded cord of black fondant, and eyebrows.
-
Cut a mouth out of white fondant and use piping gel to secure to your cake. Outline with an extruded cord of black fondant
-
Wrap floral wire in black gumpaste and bend into legs and arms for your bee. Top off with ovals of fondant for feet, and add biceps to the arms. Set aside to dry before inserting into your bee at the appropriate positions. Cut 2 shorter pieces of floral wire and wrap in fondant, topping off with 2 small balls. Set aside to dry before inserting into the head of your bee.
-
Cut 4 pieces of sheet gelatin into wing shapes. Brush the edges with water to melt slightly and fuse two pieces together to create wings.
Congratulations you did it!
