Isn’t It Time For… A Duggee Easter Cake?

recipe By Steven Carter Bailey

The perfect Easter bake for you and your little Squirrels to make together. Soo delicious, maaan! 🐰

Get started by downloading the instructions below!

Note: A grown up is needed to supervise and help with preparation and baking

you will need:

For the cake:

  1. 8 Large free-range eggs (weighed in their shells)
  2. Weigh enough caster sugar, unsalted butter and self-raising flour to each match the weight of the eggs
  3. 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  4. 2 Different food safe colours (green and blue used here)

For the buttercream

  1. 4 Large free range-egg whites
  2. Pinch of salt
  3. 250g caster sugar
  4. 500g unsalted butter
  5. Green food colouring

For the decorations:

  1. 1 Large Duggee-shaped easter egg
  2. Various shades of fondant
  3. Mini chocolate eggs

METHOD:

For the cake

  1. Grease and line four 8” cake tins, and preheat your oven to 180°c.
  2. Make the cake mix by creaming the butter and sugar with the vanilla until pale and fluffy. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, mixing between each egg.
  3. Fold in the flour by hand until it has all been incorporated – be gentle.
  4. Divide the mix between two bowls and colour each batch. This example uses blue and green. Divide the mix between the four tins and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted skewercomes out clean.
  5. Once baked, place the tins on a rack for 5-10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream

  1. Place the sugar, salt and egg whites in a heatproof bowl and stir over a double boiler (a bowl or pan on top of a pan of simmering water) until the sugar has all dissolved.
  2. Transfer the egg whites to a stand mixer and whisk on medium high until they are room temperature.
  3. Slowly add the butter to the mixer whilst it is on low, until all the butter has been incorporated. If the mix is soupy, then it is still too warm – allow it to cool before whisking again. If it curdles, then it is too cold – remove 1⁄2 a cup and melt it before adding it back into the stand mixer and whisking.
  4. Repeat if necessary, then colour it green.

To assemble the cake

  1. Trim the top of each sponge and punch out two concentric circles in each sponge to make your chess board pattern (making sure they all line up. Switch out the inner circle and centre piece in each sponge until you have two different types of bullseyes.)
  2. Stack the cakes with 1/3 of the buttercream, making sure to alternate the different types of sponge, which will give you the chess board pattern when you slice it. Cover the rest of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream.
  3. Use a grass nozzle, or a food bag with holes poked into one corner to pipe out the grass effect all over the cake and some of the cake board. Decorate with mini chocolate eggs.
  4. Use the coloured fondant to make the mini carrots, flowers, chicks and bunnies – this is fiddly, but worth the effort – adorn the cake with these decorations.

Hey Duggee egg

  1. To make Duggee, use different shades of brown fondant for his snout, mouth, ears and feet. The bunny ears and dungarees are all made using white, pink and blue fondant, and stuck on with cocktail sticks and a little royal icing from a packet. It’s best to make Duggee in advance if you can, to allow him to dry.
  2. Cut out a little dip in the top of the cake for Duggee to sit in and line it with a little buttercream to keep him in place.

Enjoy!

Remember to share your wonderful creations and bakes with us by tagging @HeyDuggee and #HeyDuggee on socials, or sending photos by direct message!