Caterpillar Cake

Preheat the oven to 160°C (Gas 3). Grease a 25cm bundt tin. (If you do not have a bundt tin, see the Cook’s Tip.) Sprinkle a little flour into the tin, then shake to form a fine layer all over. Tip out excess flour and set aside.

Whisk the butter and sugar with an electric hand-held whisk for 5 minutes, until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, beating in as much air as possible.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together, then fold it in. If it seems too stiff, add the milk. Pour into the tin.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake has risen. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

To make the icing, beat the icing sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add the green food colouring a little at a time until you reach a light green for the face. Set aside 50g, then continue to add food colouring until you reach a dark green for the body.

Place the cake on a board and use a bread knife to cut off any rise, so it is flat. Cut in half, to give 2 “C”-shaped pieces. Now cut one-quarter off one of the pieces - this will become the head. Use the picture (below) as a guide to put the body together. Trim the head and tail into a rounded shape.

Ice each piece, place it on the cake board, and use a small palette knife to touch up any areas that have been smeared. Use the lighter coloured icing for the head.

Smooth over any joins in the icing and place dark chocolate chips along the body, on both sides, for legs. Use icing to stick the white chocolate chips to the chocolate buttons, then fix them on as “eyes”. Leave for 1 hour. Use the icing pens to draw on body sections and a smiley mouth. Add sprinkles and drinking straw antennae, if you like.