I made this birthday cake over past weekend for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of. I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
Almond Fondant Felines adorn this chocolate cake with mocha frosting times two.
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Fondant Felines: Chocolate Cake
+ Fondant Felines
The cats bring a unique personality to this cake; they are kind of strange, funny, edgy, cute, creepy, handmade and playful at the same time. In trying to be resourceful, I chose to use just what was available the kitchen, i.e. cinnamon, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cocoa and mocha ganache, to color and add detail to the cats.
Ingredients on hand in the kitchen to decorate fondant
It was my first time attempting fondant and now I know why people chose to purchase it from the store: it is sticky and can be messy. But you know what? It is actually pretty simple to do marshmallow fondant and I love the idea of edible, uniquely designed critters – or whatever it may be – decorating the cake, so that makes it worth it!
What a ball! – Of marshmallow fondant
+ Mocha Frosting: Two Ways
Chocolate and mocha were the requested flavors for the birthday cake, so I took those and wanted to add some complexity. Since this cake was intended for a group of adolescents, I didn’t want to blow their hair back with a high concentration of espresso powder, leaving everyone on the ceiling, so I opted for dark roast instant coffee in an easy-going amount and the mocha flavor was there and delivered satisfyingly, even for me, a die-hard, coffee lover.
I love to make ganache every which way since it is so easy to make, smooth in texture, feels decadent when eaten and always looks élégante. On the technical side, I felt that a whipped frosting would be easier for applying and assembling a double-layer cake, filling in the space between layers. Visually, I wanted a two-tone and textured contrast between both types of frosting, however different they are, they unite through the mocha flavor.
The cake pre-fondant felines
+ Chocolate Cake
The double-layer cake itself is classic chocolate and very moist. It’s not overly sweet, so one can easily have more than one piece without overdosing with sweetness on the palate. I purposefully kept the cake part being chocolate only, verses making it mocha because it would have been too much mocha (not that there’s anything wrong with too much mocha!) and that was not what I was going for. The recipe utilizes buttermilk to add dimension in flavor, texture and moisture (to explain more about the effect of buttermilk in baking read here). For serving, I did make vanilla flavored whipped cream but ideally, I could see this cake pairing nicely with vanilla bean ice cream and a hot espresso.
= A Divine, Delicious Experience!
This was a cake that I will want to make again and again or some iteration of in the future. It does not take itself too seriously, thanks to the fondant felines but most importantly, delivers a satisfying dose of chocolate and mocha.
Ingredients used:
Morton Kosher Salt
Kate’s Creamery Real Buttermilk
Frontier Co-op Organic Vanilla Extract
Fondant Felines: Chocolate Cake
I made this birthday cake over past weekend for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of. I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt , I use Morton Kosher Salt
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk , I use Kate’s Creamery Real Buttermilk
- 2/3 cup cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla , I use Frontier Co-op Organic Vanilla Extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 recipe Marshmallow Fondant , see below.
- 1 recipe Mocha Ganache Frosting , see below.
- 1 recipe Whipped Mocha Frosting , see below.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 x 2 inch cake pans.
- Using a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, making sure the dry ingredients are well blended. **Sift dry ingredient mixture. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat until just combined. Add the egg and beat for a couple of minutes more, then spread batter into the prepared pans, putting an even amount of batter in both.
- **Sifting the dry ingredients is not essential but it will give the cake a finer texture.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 mins. in pan, then flip out of pan and cool completely on cooling rack. Using a bread knife or long serrated knife, slice the rounded cake top off, to achieve a level surface, if desired.
- *While cake is baking, make the ganache frosting and leave out, since it needs to be spread while warm. Make the whipped mocha frosting which can be refrigerated while waiting for the cake to cool, if need be.
Frosting No. 1: Mocha Ganache Frosting
I made this birthday cake over past weekend for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of. I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
Ingredients
- *This will be enough to frost the top layer with a little extra left over.
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee , I used Starbucks Via Italian Roast
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, dissolve the espresso powder into the whipping cream. Bring whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add semi-sweet chocolate morsels evenly covered by the whipping cream but DO NOT STIR. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth and let cool 15 minutes before frosting cake. Be careful not to let cool too long or it will set and be harder to frost the cake.
Frosting No. 2: Whipped Mocha Frosting
I made this birthday cake over past weekend for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of. I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
Ingredients
- *This will be enough to frost the sides and the middle of the cake with none left over.
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee , I used Starbucks Via Italian Roast
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a chilled metal mixing bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon instant coffee into 1 cup of whipping cream.
- Beat with electric mixer on medium speed just until stiff peaks form.
Marshmallow Fondant for Fondant Felines: Chocolate Cake
I made this birthday cake over past weekend for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of. I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
Ingredients
- * Makes 2 1/4 pounds of fondant. This will last up to 1 month in the refrigerator , well wrapped or in an airtight container.
- 1/4 cup butter , for work surface and hands and coating dough
- 16 oz . mini-marshmallows
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract or your favorite flavor extract
- 2 pounds of confectioners sugar , sifted
Instructions
- In a large pot on the stove top, over medium heat, melt mini-marshmallows, stirring until they dissolve and are smooth.
- Stir water and extract of choice into marshmallows.
- Slowly beat in confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time. Reserve some for kneading. Dough will become very stiff and hard to stir. Turn out onto a buttered surface.
- Rub hands with butter, knead remaining confectioner's sugar into the dough. Knead dough until smooth and not sticky to the touch, about 5-10 minutes. If there's some confectioner's sugar leftover, that's okay.
- Form into a ball, coat with butter and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
- To use, bring to room temperature. **Knead on a surface of confectioner's sugar.
- Have fun creating little sculptures to adorn your cake!
- **I found it easier to cut off smaller amounts to knead, one at a time.
Recipe credits:
The original recipe that inspired my version is called “One-Bowl Chocolate Cake” p.168 of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Please note: I follow 1/3 cup of cooking oil in the book version versus the online version where it calls for 1/4 cup of cooking oil.
For the ganache frosting, my version is inspired by “Ganache” recipe, Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, p. 186.
For the whipped mocha frosting, my version is inspired by “Mocha frosting,” Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, p. 176.
My stove top version of Marshmallow Fondant was inspired by this microwave version of Marshmallow Fondant, and for a great video showing how to make it, click here.
Special Thanks to my Husband Eric <3
Sara Maniez
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Wow! It looks yummy, even the cat seems to love it….
Thank you!
This delicious looking cake is baked with most loving consideration & the little cats are so cute & expressive! The lucky birthday girl must be so pleased & will remember your effort always.
Thank you very much!
Hi Sara,
What an adorable cake and it looks delicious, my daughter will just love this. Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope you are having a great day.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Hello Miz Helen! I appreciate you stopping by, thank you for hosting such a fun link party!
This is just too cute! Thanks for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays, Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Lauren, your welcome!