Little Miss Chatterbox Cake

 I had a very interesting comment a little earlier in the week. I deleted it (the privileges of being the author of a blog!) so don't go looking for it. It was hilarious though.
Someone basically had a go at me for sharing such unhealthy recipes, and directed everyone over to her healthy eating blog. Yes. You read right.
Here I am, just sharing, making peoples lives sweeter, and get chastised for giving this food to my friends and family and spreading the fat around, as I like to say. But I'm not sitting in the corner redfaced. No. I am grinning right back at you, healthy blogger.
I don't think I need to put warning signs up all over my blog for people who are not well educated in how to eat correctly. I'm all for healthy eating. I'm also all for balance and enjoying food. Sweets are on the food pyramid too...at the top, closest to heaven!
So sweet of you to be thinking of my weight, healthy blogger--it's very kind. But look at me. I obviously sit at home an eat everything posted on this site and have become obese. Don't you think?

My only crime is a twisted skirt...

Despite popular belief, I am not the blind witch that owns the gingerbread house that Hansel and Gretel stumbled across, once upon a time. I eat my veggies too!
Needless to say, no one should be living off this sort of food. I know I don't have to tell you that. Even though I just did.
There's no recipe with this post but there are a few general directions. Sometimes when I make a cake I am going to spend lots of time on just decorating, I take a shortcut and  bake a cake from the box *gasp*. I don't like doing that, but it makes life a bit easier sometimes. I have found a most delicious boxed cake mix that believe it or not, is one of the cheapest ones you can buy. I know. Sounds gross, and costs less than a dollar, just Black and Gold brand. But trust me, it tastes better than lots of those cake mixes that are quadruple the price. So I have a few up in the cupboard for occasions like this.

I made this Little Miss Chatterbox cake for my sister in law's 13th birthday party. As you might well imagine, she's the one person I know who can talk the leg off a chai, and hence, has gained the title of Little Miss Chatterbox.
I made the cake in an oven proof bowl, about 10cm wide and 8 deep. I then covered the cake, turned upside down, with buttercream icing. I used home made rolled fondant for the body, arms, legs and hair and facial features. I wanted the colours to be intense, as shown in the book of this little character. I recommend using a gel colouring for the intensity, although I used liquid food colouring, and it worked fine too. There was just a whole lot more icing sugar that had to be pounded into the fondant to make it dry enough to roll. The eyes and mouth I painted with black food colouring to get that intensity, otherwise it would have looked a bit faded. It dried quickly and worked perfectly.
Because the cake was so small, I sat Little Miss Chatterbox on a cake of her own. It was a marbled pink and white buttercake, topped with coconut buttercream. I coloured the coconut by placing it in a ziplock bag along with some green food colouring, and shaking to coat the coconut.

ROLLED FONDANT

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup glucose (can substitute light corn syrup)

1 tablespoon glycerin 

1 tablespoons butter

2 pound bag of icing sugar, sifted.

1 teaspoon flavoring

  

Pour water in a small saucepan. Shower the gelatin over the cold water so that the gelatin is evenly distributed.  Let gelatin soften in the water for five minutes.

Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. When all sugar is sifted, make a well in the center of the bowl. Heat the water and gelatin over gentle heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved. Mix in glucose (or corn syrup) and glycerin. Add the butter and mix until melted. Remove from heat and stir in desired flavouring. I used vanilla essence. 

Pour wet ingredients into the well of powdered sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon until cool enough to handle. 

Then use a lightly greased hand to knead the ingredients together. Knead in the bowl until most of the icing sugar is incorporated. 

Turn out on a lightly greased bench and knead until the fondant is smooth and pliable. If it feels sticky, add additional icing sugar. If it feels too dry and doesn't feel elastic, work in a small bit of butter. 

Shape into a thick disk shape and cover with a thin coating of butter. Wrap well in several layers of plastic wrap, and place in a large ziplock bag. The fondant can be used immediately, but works much better if its left to cure for at least 12 hours. The fondant will store at room temperature this way for three months, and can be frozen for up to 12 months. Add food colouring as desired.