Before Christmas my brother asked me to make him a giant caterpillar cake for his birthday. By the time his birthday came around, he had completely forgotten he had asked, so he was incredibly surprised to see this for his birthday!
This giant caterpillar cake is made from 14 x 8" cakes, 1.5kg of banana split icing sugar from sugar and crumbs and 1kg vegan chocolate, I used Moo Free. This cake is 70cm in length.
This cake would be a great one to make for a birthday party; it will serve at least 84 people generously.
This cake is even great if you freeze it and eat it straight from frozen.
The first time I made this cake I hadn't frozen the cakes and they just collapsed. Unfortunately because this vegan cake is so soft it's so easy to fall apart, so I find freezing the cake is always the best way to go.
I made 2 cakes at a time, making the mix as I went instead of making a whole batch and spreading it out.
The measurements for 2 cakes are;
1 1/3 Cup Self Raising Flour
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Caster Sugar
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
2 tsp Vanilla
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Cider Vinegar
To make this cake you have to move quite fast. If the cakes aren't frozen they wont stand up and will break.
You can use any buttercream to make this cake or skip the buttercream all together. I love the banana split buttercream and chocolate, I think it tastes amazing.
This cake would also make a great giant mini roll, you could even add some fondant over one half and make it look like the packet.
I hope you love this cake as much as we do!
If you have any questions, please send us a message. You can message us on here, facebook, instagram and youtube. We look forward to talking with you!
Please don't forget to tag us if you try any of our recipes @marisasveganrecipes on instagram and facebook. We can't wait to see what you make!
Marisa
Giant Caterpillar Cake
Ingredients
9 ⅓ Cup Self Raising Flour
7 tbsp Cocoa Powder
7 Cup Caster Sugar
7tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
7 Cup Milk I use oat milk but any plant based milk will work
14tsp Vanilla Essence
2 ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
7 tbsp Cider Vinegar
1.5kg Banana Split Icing Sugar - Sugar and crumbs
660g Butter I use Flora but any plant based milk will work.
3-5 tsp Vanilla Essence
Drop of milk
1kg Milk Chocolate - Moo Free
2 Chocolate Buttons - Moo Free
60g White Chocolate - Moo Free
1 Vegan Fruit Pastel - I bought these from Tescos
Handful Rainbow Drops
Vegan Milk Bottles - I bought these from tescos
Small bit of Raspberry Yoyo - This is a toddler treat, you can use something else.
Method
Cake;
Preheat the oven 180C and preheat your 8” baking trays. I made 2 cakes at a time. You need a total of 14 cakes.
In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and caster sugar.
Mix to combine.
Add the milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar.
Mix until you have a completely smooth mix.
Separate into your prepared tins.
Place foil on the top of the tins.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap them individually with cling film and place in the freezer overnight.
Buttercream;
Place the butter and vanilla in a large bowl and mix to combine and soften slightly.
Sift the icing sugar into the bowl.
Mix until you have a thick butter cream.
Add a little milk if the mix is too thick
Place in the fridge until ready to use.
Decorating;
Carefully place one of your cakes on a cake board, on its side and buttercream the side of it. You need to move quite quickly so the cake doesn’t fall and thaw before the chocolate is added.
Add another cake to the buttercream and repeat this until you have used all 14 cakes.
Spread the remaining buttercream over the outside of the cake and leave the cake somewhere cool to let the buttercream set a little.
Melt the milk chocolate in a glass bowl, over a saucepan of boiling water.
Once the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan and stir until the chocolate is barely warm anymore.
Transfer the chocolate to a jug and slowly pour the chocolate over the top of the cake until it covers the entire cake. If you need to you can use a spatula to smooth the chocolate around the cake in areas that are needed.
While the chocolate sets, melt the white chocolate and spread it in a circle for the face. I placed cling film over the base of a 5” cake tin as a guide.
Add the milk chocolate buttons for eyes, fruit pastel for the nose and a bit of a yoyo for the mouth. Let the chocolate set.
Use the last of the melted milk chocolate to stick the rainbow drops spaced across the body of the caterpillar.
Once the white chocolate has set, remove the cling film, and carefully secure it to the caterpillar. You can use any leftover melted chocolate or slightly warm the back of the white chocolate.
Store in a cool place, covered in cling film, until ready to serve.
Serve
Enjoy!
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