Vanilla Monster Sponge Cake Part 2 (THE ICING)

Click HERE to watch the YouTube video.

Icing this cake was SO MUCH FUN! I've never sculpted a cake before- and I have to say it was easier than expected, likely because the sponge cake I made was so lovely and dense which made it very, very easy to carve.

I used every last spoonful of the 5 cups of buttercream I made so remember, it's always better to make more than you think you need - you can always freeze it for later.

Click HERE for the sponge cake recipe!

BASIC BUTTERCREAM ICING:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups unsalted butter

7-8 cups icing sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2-4 tbsp. heavy cream or milk

2 or 3 marshmallows (for the eyes and teeth)

HOW TO MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM:

1.) Using your paddle attachment in your mixer, cream butter until nice and smooth for about 30 seconds to a minute. * Make sure your butter is room temperature!

2.) Gradually add 3 heaping cups of sugar on low speed until incorporated. Add the second 3 heaping cups and mix until combined. Then turn the speed to medium and mix until combined well.

3.) Add the vanilla and the 3 tablespoons of the cream on low speed until creamy.

4.) Add the remaining sugar on low speed. Once incorporated turn the speed to medium and whip until fluffy.

DECORATING INSTRUCTIONS:

1.) Slice the cake tops off to make them flat (if you have not already done this).

2.) Choose your monsters colour! I did it ombre style, so I wanted to prepare my icing in small batches of colour. I started with 2 cups of dark VIOLET for the middle layers and the bottom part of the cake (when I started piping the fur). See below for how to CONTINUE getting the gradual effect of darker to lighter.

3.) Spread an even thick layer of the VIOLET icing on the bottom layer.

4.) Cut a hole out of the middle layer (to put the sprinkles in) using a round cookie cutter.

5.) Lay middle cake on top of bottom cake. Pour the sprinkles of your choice into the hole.

6.) Ice the middle layer and place the top layer on TOP!

7.) Making it look like a head - Carve the top of the cake using a serrated knife. Just carve away until you think it looks domed enough for a monster head.

8.) Put a VERY thin layer of icing (the same colour as you will do the monsters fur) all over the cake. Think of this as the base coat.

9.) Cut a mouth out of the bottom portion of the cake using a small knife. (Approx. 4" wide and 3"tall)

10.) Make up some BROWN or BLACK icing (a very small amount as this will be used only for inside the mouth and eyes). Using a small spatula, spread the brown icing inside the monsters mouth.

10.) ICING - Put the rest of your VIOLET icing in a piping bag, using whatever tip you like. I used a rosebud tip. When this icing runs out, make another 1 cup batch with slightly less colour, continue piping around the cake (from bottom to top) and so on until you get to the top, where your monsters head will be quite a light purply pink.

11.) Once you've finished piping the fur, cut rounds out of the marshmallow for the monsters eyes and place them where you want them to go.

12.) Put the rest of the brown icing in a piping bag and using a small round tip, pipe in the dark part of the monsters eyes.

13.) Cut as many teeth as you want from the marshmallows and attach in the monsters mouth with toothpicks or icing.

14.) Choose a contrasting colour to pipe on some ears or horns to the top of your monsters head. I just used whatever icing I had left (approx. 1/2 cup)

14.) Add whatever sprinkle embellishments you want to the top and you are done!

NOTES:

*At this point you can play with how much more cream you want to add. You may not need to add any more at all, you might need to add just a teaspoon. You want the buttercream to be firm enough to keep its shape, but not so firm that it's not easy to pipe.