Delicious Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons Owl Cake

METHOD

• 1

  Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan/160 °C and line your cake tin with greaseproof paper. Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs with 2 tbsps of flour to prevent it from curdling. Then add the remaining flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix until combined.

• 2

  Pour the cake batter into your prepared tin and place in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when placed in the centre of the cake. Place on a cooling rack for five minutes, then remove the cake to cool fully.

• 3

  Meanwhile, make the icing. Melt the chocolate and cream together in a bain marie (a bowl over a pan of simmering water, being careful not to allow the bowl to touch the surface of the water).

• 4

  Once melted, remove from the heat and add a knob of butter, stirring until combined. Leave to cool and thicken up until you have a good spreading consistency.

• 5

  When you are ready to decorate, use a serrated knife to cut out an owl shape. (I would recommend using a drawn and cut-out stencil for this stage) Use the left-over sponge to create two wings and place on either side. Add a layer of icing until the whole cake is fully covered. Begin by placing two giant buttons as eyes, then two white chocolate buttons for the pupils. Create a beak using a triangle shaped candy/chocolate.

• 6

  Using your fingers, crush up the chocolate flakes (I like to do this whilst the flake is still in its sealed packaging) and use to cover the wings, the ears and around the owl's face to create a feathery look. Finally, place layers of milk and white chocolate buttons for the owl's belly.

• 7

  Slice and enjoy!