Elmo Revisted

Despite the latest bad press surrounding Elmo and his voice over, you can't take away the fact that the furry red monster is still one of the most loved children's characters of all time, and for me, that won't change no matter what. So I was glad to have the opportunity to make an Elmo cake for a friend and her daughter who celebrated their birthdays together.

A year ago, I started my baking venture and Elmo was one of my first foray into novelty cakes. I made it for Jake's 2nd birthday and back then, I remembered the task to be daunting! I spent 3 days prepping and was thrilled with how Elmo turned out - check out my old post here.

This time, the task was more enjoyable than unnerving and it only took a day. I made three layers of moist chocolate cake, assembled it with rich chocolate ganache and frosted the whole cake with a red-tinted fluffy meringue frosting. Then I cut out a piece of baking paper for the mouth before covering the cake in red fluff, much like what you'd do when painting any special corners or spots.

Frost and peel

Always good for a smile

The eyes and nose were made with fondant. They were easy shapes - 2 round balls for eyes and an egg-like shape for the nose.

Eyes without a face

Then put it all together and there you have it... Elmo :)

Happy Birthday Isabel and Eunice