Leonardo lion birthday cake
Kids will adore this Leo the Lion birthday cake from The Australian Women's Weekly's famous 'Children's Birthday Cake Book' cookbook. He is the King of the Jungle, after all.
- 50 mins preparation
- Makes 1
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Ingredients
Leonardo lion
- 3 x 340g packets buttercake mix
Butter cream
- 250 gram butter
- 3 cup (480g) icing sugar
- 4 tablespoon milk
- orange and yellow colouring
Decorations
- 2 orange smarties
- black glossy decorating gel
- 1 red jube, cut in half horizontally
- 1 black licorice strap
Method
Leonardo lion
- 1Preheat oven to 180°C; grease and line 14cm x 21cm loaf pan and two 19cm x 29cm rectangular slice pans.
- 2Make cakes separately according to directions on packets; place one quantity of mixture into each of the prepared pans. Bake loaf cake about 50 minutes and slice pans 25 minutes. Stand cakes in pans 5 minutes; turn onto wire racks to cool.
- 3Using serrated knife, level cake tops. Cut off one-third of cake from one short end of loaf cake. Cut this piece in half horizontally, trim piece into 4cm x 8cm rectangle, then cut point for nose.
- 4Place slice pan cakes side by side, cut-side down; trim tops, if necessary, so cakes are the same height. Cut out the shape of lion's head.
- 5Place lion's head on 35cm x 45cm prepared rectangular board, cut-side down, top with large oblong from loaf cake, position nose piece on top.
- 6To make butter cream, beat butter until white as possible, gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar then milk, then remaining icing sugar. Beat until smooth.
- 7Tint ½ cup of the butter cream orange, tint remaining butter cream yellow. Spread yellow butter cream evenly over nose and face and around sides of cake.
- 8Spread remaining yellow butter cream thickly for mane. Dot orange butter cream on mane. Using a fork, swirl orange butter cream into yellow butter cream.
- 9Position marshmallows and Smarties for eyes. Dot with a little black gel for pupils. Position red jube for tongue.
- 10Cut licorice strap into thin strips, position on face for mouth and whiskers. Dot a little black gel near whiskers. Use black decorating gel to draw triangle for nose.