Fluffy Highland Cow

MOOOOOOOVE on over because the Fluffy Highland Cow has arrived! This hack is slightly more time consuming, but the end result is worth it. The horns, the piped buttercream and those biscuit ears create the most adorable cow you could ever imagine!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 20cm round cake (see pages 10–13)
• 1 x batch Tigga’s buttercream (see page 15)
• ½ x batch dark chocolate ganache (see page 16)
• pink gel food colouring
• 1 x 250 g packet Arnott’s Choc Ripple or other chocolate biscuits
• 2 marshmallow eyes (see page 17)
• 2 brown M&M’s
• 1 giant white marshmallow

Equipment:

• 25cm round cake board
• 2 piping bags
• 1 star tip nozzle

Cut the Cake:

Okie dokie, let’s get moooooooving! Cut the cake to end up with 2 small offcuts and 2 main pieces – the head (1) and the nose (2). Feel free to snack on the offcuts, as you won’t need them!

METHOD

1. For this cake, you will need 3 colours: pale pink, light brown and dark brown. To start, place 1½ cups of buttercream into a bowl and colour it pale pink. Place another 1½ cups of buttercream in a separate bowl and colour it light brown by stirring through a small amount of chocolate ganache. Then colour the remaining buttercream dark brown by stirring through more chocolate ganache until you have reached the desired colour.

2. Spread a little buttercream on the cakeboard where the cake will sit. This will be the glue that stops the cake from moving around while you are decorating it. Stand the main head piece (1) upright on the board. Next, stick the nose piece (2) onto the front of your cake using buttercream.

3. Using a small serrated knife, carefully round off the edges of the nose piece to remove sharp corners.

4. Now the cake is assembled, it’s time to get decorating! First up, the crumb coat. Fill a piping bag with 1 cup of dark-brown buttercream (you will have some spare that will be used later). Cut the tip off the bag to give a 1cm opening. Roughly pipe buttercream over the head of the cow, then smooth it out with a palette knife. It doesn’t have to be perfect as you will be piping the cow’s fluffy hair over the top. Empty any excess buttercream into your bowl and keep the piping bag aside for later use. Now, fill a second piping bag with the pink buttercream and pipe over the nose, once again smoothing with a palette knife. Chill the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes or until firm. Apply a second coat of pink buttercream to the nose and smooth out with a palette knife.

5. Place the star tip nozzle in the empty dark-brown butter creampiping bag and refill the bag. You may need to cut a larger hole in the piping bag to allow for the nozzle. Pipe buttercream over the entire head to create your fluffy cow. Keep the piping bag handy for the next step.

6. The biscuits will become the cow’s ears. Using a small, sharp knife, carefully carve the biscuits into shape. Push the biscuits firmly into the sides of the head. Next, pipe dark-brown buttercream over the back of the ears and around the outer edge. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes or until firm.

7. Place the marshmallow eyes on the front of the head and pop 2 brown M&M’s on the front of the pink nose to create nostrils.

8. Time to bring the WOW factor! First up, HORNS! Cut a giant white marshmallow diagonally in half to create 2 triangles. Place the horns on top of the head, keeping them on the inside of the cow’s ears.

9. Squeeze the remaining dark-brown buttercream from the piping bag. Don’t worry about cleaning the bag. Instead, keep the star tip nozzle in place and fill the bag with the light-brown buttercream. Squeeze until most of the remaining dark-brown buttercream has gone and the light-brown buttercream is coming through. You are now ready to create a fringe! Pipelines of light-brown buttercream down the face and around the eyes – you can make your cow as hairy as you like. And that’s it!