Snow White's Evil Queen Surprise Bundt Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 3 hours plus overnight drying time, 2.5 days total
Cooking time: 2 hours
Crown
- 300g/10.6ozs. gum paste (do not use fondant)
- Cornflour/cornstarch for rolling
- Jewel silicon molds and cupcake topper in "Chandelier" pattern
- Non stick rolling pin
- Ruler, paring knife or fondant cutter
- Red, blue and green food colouring
- Gold edible paint (edible gold lustre dust mixed with a teaspoon or two of vodka)
- A canister of gold edible paint spray
- Edible adhesive gel
First cake
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup oil (use a flavourless oil like grapeseed, not an olive oil)
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- Orange food colouring gel
- 3/4 cup cake flour*
Second cake
- 200g/7ozs. dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 200g/7ozs. butter
- 1 cup dark cocoa powder
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour*
Bloody ganache
- 75g/2.7ozs. white chocolate
- 75ml/2.7fl ozs. cream
- 1 teaspoon or so of red gel colouring (not liquid)
To make 1 cup of cake flour, place 2 tablespoons of cornflour/fine cornstarch in a jug and top to 1 level make with plain all purpose flour. Whisk to evenly distribute.
Step 1 - Start on the crown as it is made from gum paste and that takes a while to dry. Start the crown 2.5 days ahead of time (you can make this a week ahead of time if it is easier). First, measure the circumference of the top of the bundt so that a crown can sit snugly on top - you will also need a container or jar that the crown can wrap around while it is drying and it must not have tapered edges and be straight up and down.
Step 2 - Roll out the gum paste on a lightly cornfloured surface with a rolling pin and trim to just over that length and about 7-8cms wide. Use the V end of a heart shaped cutter to cut out the spikes in the crown (as shown) and then gently wrap the length of gum paste around the container or bottle to allow it to set with support.
Step 3 - Dust a little cornflour in the cavity of the jewel mold and press a small amount of gum paste in the cavity and pop it out and allow to dry with the crown. I made six large gems and 6-7 small ones to sit on the crown spikes. I also used another silicon cupcake mold to make a front pattern on the crown. I rolled out a thin layer of gum paste on top of it and it left an impression on the fondant. Drafty or air conditioned rooms allow gum paste to set faster. Allow it to dry until hard (this can be overnight).
Step 4 - Spray with an edible gold mist spray. When it is dry, cover up any missed patches or make it even more golden by hand painting it in edible gold dust mixed with a spirit like vodka. Colour the gems in the centre with the colours and then gold on the outside. Stick the gems onto the crown with the edible adhesive and allow to dry completely and become hard.
Step 5 - While it is drying, make the first cake. Preheat oven to 170C/340F. Line a loaf cake tin with parchment on the base and sides. Whisk the egg and sugar together in a bowl. Then add oil, milk, orange zest, juice, colouring and whisk until emulsified. Fold in the cake flour until just combined and there are no lumps. Spoon into the tin and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Step 6 - Allow to cool and then trim the top off the cake with a sharp knife. Take a small cookie cutter, one that fits into the side of your bundt cake (it's best to keep the cutter shape a simple one), and cut out the shapes. Place in the freezer while you make your other cake.
Step 7 - Make the second cake. Preheat oven to 180C/350F and butter the bundt tin very well. If the non stick release is old then add a light coat of cocoa after the butter. Melt the chocolate, butter and cocoa in a saucepan on low heat until melted. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Place in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine. Mix in the flour and coffee in 3-4 lots alternating with each until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps (try to avoid overmixing). Spoon 6 tablespoons or so into the bottom of the pan and bake it for 7-8 minutes.
Step 8 - Take the frozen pieces of the first cake and using a small pair of tongs place them on top of the cooked batter. Then fill a large piping bag with cake batter and pipe it around and under the shapes. Fill with the rest of the batter and then tap gently against the counter. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for an hour and then release gently by upturning it onto a serving plate. Allow to cool completely.
Step 9 - Mix the red colouring with the cream until combined. Heat the cream until almost boiling and pour over the chocolate and mix. Allow to cool a little so that is of a good drippable consistency. Spoon it over the bundt and drip down the sides. Gently place the crown on top.