What you need:
• 225g butter or margarine
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 225g self- raising flour
• Milk, to loosen
• 3 packs of ready-made icing
• 2 bottles of green food colouring
• 2 large round cake tins
• Smarties/M&Ms, chocolate buttons and white writing icing for decoration
What to do:
1. The first step is to prepare your cake mix. Cream your butter and sugar together in a nice big mixing bowl- get the kids to help with the mixing!
2. Then, beat your eggs and stir in with the butter and sugar mix
3. Fold in the flour, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a smooth cake mix
4. Grease and line your cake tins with baking paper
5. Next, fill your two cake tins with your cake mix. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top. Your cakes will be ready when you can insert a toothpick into them, and they come out almost clean.
6. Place the cakes aside and let them cool completely- the perfect time to put a wash on with Persil small & mighty!
7. Once they’re cool, cut a small moon shape off one of the edges of your cakes, and then cut a small u-shape in the middle of the cake. The shape you have left will be your dinosaur’s legs and tummy!
8. Next, use the other cake to cut out the tail and head. Don’t worry- you don’t have to do this free hand- I find it helps to cut out a paper template beforehand to guide you.
9. Now use the other round cake to cut out shapes for the tail and legs. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. I find it helpful to use the icing like a glue, to stick the body, tail and legs together.
10. A trick is to then leave your cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour, to reduce the amount of crumbs when it comes to the decorating.
11. Next, fill your two cake tins with your cake mix. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top. Your cakes will be ready when you can insert a toothpick into them, and they come out almost clean.
12. Next, use a spatula to cover the entire dinosaur with green icing, layering and shaping your frosting over any mistakes or holes.
13. For my dinosaur cake, I like to cover him in brown spots using chocolate buttons. I use brown Smarties or M&Ms for the toes and eyes, and white writing icing for a nice and friendly toothy smile! Then allow the icing to set.
14. If you’d like to make your dinosaur even more realistic you can also use lines of chocolate chips down the back for scales. You can also be really creative and use any leftover green icing for grass, crushed chocolate for dirt and green liquorice for vines. Why not get creative with the kids and make a swampy home for your dinosaur?
There you have it – a Mini Miracle of your own making! It’s so simple and goes down fantastically with kids of all ages.
