Ingredients
Method
1.Preheat oven to 180°C; grease and line deep 26cm x 36cm baking dish. Make cake according to directions on packet, pour into pan; bake about 1 hour. Stand cake in pan 10 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool. Using serrated knife, level cake top.
2.Using paper pattern from pattern sheet, cut poodle’s body, feet and tail from cake, cut-side down.
3.Assemble cake pieces on board, cut-side down, to form poodle; discard remaining cake.
4.To make butter cream, beat the butter (and any flavouring, if using) in a small narrow bowl with an electric mixer until the butter is as white as possible (this will result in a whiter butter cream which will give you better results if colouring it). Gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar then the milk, then the remaining icing sugar. Beat until the butter cream is smooth and spreadable. Keep scraping down the side of the bowl during beating.
5.Tint butter cream with pink colouring; spread all over cake.
6.Trim one licorice twist to 11cm; position on cake for tail. Trim another licorice twist to 8cm; position on cake for ear. Trim remaining licorice twists to 8cm; position on cake for legs.
7.Decorate body and feet with mallow bakes. Decorate head, ear and tail with marshmallows.
8.Cut licorice strap into thin strips, position around outline of poodle face; cut shorter pieces for eye and mouth. Trim 5mm piece from licorice twist trimmings; position on cake for nose.
If you find that the marshmallows don’t sit in place firmly when decorating the ear, secure them with toothpicks, but be sure to remove them before serving. You need approximately 4 x 150g packets of mallow bakes.
Note
