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How to make an Easter chick cake

by Louise 13 Comments

Easter chick cakeSpring is finally on its way and Easter is just around the corner, so this leads me to think about all the cute baby animals that we will soon be seeing. To celebrate, I have created a round Easter chick, which is a lot of fun to make and look at. You can also make it as simple or as detailed as you like, depending on how much time you have.

Easter chick

This is what I used:

Cake batter, enough for a 7″ round sponge cake

Jam, buttercream and white chocolate ganache

Ball tin (I used a 6″ diameter ball tin)

Baking sheet

Baking parchment and trex/butter to line the tins

3 x drinking straws plus scissors to trim

Thin cake board, 1″ narrower than diameter of your cake

Knives for cutting cake and icing, plus a palette knife

Rolling pin and cornflour to dust work surface

Orange and yellow fondant icing, plus a small amount of white for the eyes

Small circle cutter and black edible pen for eyes

Optional extras: large circle cutter for wings, leaf cutters for details

Step 1:
Grease and line the two halves of the ball tin. I find that a strip around the edge and a cross through the centre is enough to release the edges and prevent the middle from sticking, but you may wish to add more strips, depending on the nature of your cake mix. Place the two tins in oven-proof supports (I used the large ring from the 6″ ball tin plus a small ring from a 4″ ball tin) and place on a baking sheet.
Easter chick

Step 2:
Fill the tins with cake batter, leaving at least several centimetres/an inch gap at the top. You want the cake to rise to the top of the tins but not overflow. Cook the two cakes as per your normal recipe, ensuring they are fully cooked throughout. Turn them out onto a cooling rack.
Easter chick

Step 3:
Once the two halves are cooled, remove the strips of baking parchment. Faint lines will have been created in the sponge but this won’t affect the overall round shape of your cake.
Easter chick

Step 4:
Using a bread knife or cake leveller, cut the flat surfaces of the two halves so that, when put together, they form a slightly squashed ball (this leaves room for filling in the middle). You may want to leave the cake like this but I prefer more filling so I also removed a thin section from the middle of each half. Using your bread knife, trim the curved top off one half so that it will sit flat on the cake board (you don’t want your cake to roll away!). You should now have four pieces of cake that do not quite fit together.
Easter chick
Easter chick

Step 5:
Taking the lower half of the ball (the one with the flat bottom), add jam and buttercream between the two pieces and sandwich together. To increase stability and prevent the weight of the top half from squashing the bottom half and distorting the ball, push three drinking straws into the cake, near the centre, and trim level with the cake. Add a small amount of buttercream and stick the thin cake board in place on top.
Easter chick
Easter chick

Step 6:
Add jam and buttercream to the second half of the cake and place on top of the first half, securing with a layer of buttercream. You now have a ball of cake. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up.
Easter chick

Step 7:
Crumb coat your ball. I started with a thin layer of buttercream to ensure that any gaps between layers were completely filled, then I covered the whole cake in ganache to hold everything in place. Place in the fridge again to set the ganache.
Easter chick

Step 8:
Wet your ganached ball cake using your preferred method (water/sugar syrup/thin buttercream). Roll out a large sheet of yellow fondant to a thin layer (2-3 mm). If your fondant is too thick, the weight will cause it to split at the top of the ball. Cover the ball with the fondant, straightening out the excess to prevent tears and creases.
Easter chick

Step 9:
Gently smooth the fondant with your hands, working it over the curved shape. Start at the top and work your way downwards, being careful not to over stretch the fondant as you cover the lower half. When the ball is completely covered and your hands reach the table, trim the excess fondant with a sharp knife. Leave a little extra fondant at the very bottom so that you can create a neat edge.
Easter chick

Step 10:
Using an icing smoother, gently smooth the surface, again working from top to bottom until you are happy with the result. Use your sharp knife to tuck in and trim any excess at the bottom to leave a clean edge.
Easter chick

Step 11:
If you are not happy with the finish at the bottom of the ball, don’t worry, I have a solution! Chicks are feathery so you can create a feathery edge to the bottom of the cake by rolling a thin sausage of yellow fondant. Using your little finger, make impressions in the sausage to resemble feathers and then wrap the strip around the base of your cake. This will hide any mistakes and help to stabilize the ball.
Easter chick

Step 12:
Using your knife, mark where you would like to place the face of the chick (I chose just above the half way mark). Roll out a thin sheet of white fondant and cut out two small circles for eyes. Stick these in place using a little water or sugar glue.
Easter chick

Step 13:
Using the same circle cutter, cut out a circle of yellow fondant and cut it in half. This will form the two eyelids. Soften and curve the edges with your fingers.
Easter chick

Step 14:
Using water or sugar glue, place the two yellow semi circles onto the eyes, moulding the edges to completely cover the edge of the white circle underneath.
Easter chick

Step 15:
Mould the beak. Start with a small ball of orange fondant (approximately 15 mm in diameter) and pinch it into an oval with a flat side. Then mould the curved side into a point. Use your sharp knife to mark the mouth and nostrils.
Easter chick

Step 16:
Make the wings. You can draw these free hand if you wish. Alternatively, use a large circle cutter to cut a circle of yellow fondant, then cut this in half with a sharp knife. Mould the edges with your fingers to create soft curves and press one corner inwards to create a curved end. Bend each semi circle slightly to create a curved wing shape, making sure that the two halves are mirror images of each other.
Easter chick
Easter chick
Easter chick

Step 17:
As before, secure the wings and beak in place, making sure that the wings are level and visible when the cake is viewed from the front.
Easter chick

Step 18:
To add extra interest to the chick’s face and to create the look of feathers, make a fringe using a simple leaf cutter. Soften the edges of the leaf shape with your fingers, then cut slits with your sharp knife. Repeat three times to create three feathers. You can also use this method to create tail feathers.
Easter chick

Step 19:
For the feet, roll two balls of orange fondant (approximately three times the size of the beak). Flatten the ball and cut off the curve from one side. Make two cuts into the curved side to create three toes. You can make all three toes the same size or, for a more realistic look, make the toe nearest the centre of the chick slightly larger than the other two.
Easter chick

Step 20:
Smooth the edges of the toes so that they are curved and pinch them into points so that they resemble small carrots. Use your knife to score creases for knuckles, and make small triangular indentations at the ends for nails.
Easter chick
Easter chick

Step 21:
Secure the fringe, feet and tail feathers in place using water or sugar glue. Bend some of the feathered edges of the fringe upwards to create texture and movement in the feathers.
Easter chick

Step 22:
Using the black edible pen, draw rings onto the eyes for pupils. I have also added two small flattened balls of yellow fondant for cheeks, and I have placed the chick on a board covered with green fondant and simple white blossoms with yellow sugar pearl centres.
Easter chick

Happy Easter and Happy Caking!

Beth

Previous Post: « How to make Carrot Cake Pops
Next Post: How to Make a Bunny Cake (Easter Cake Recipe) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patricia

    April 3, 2013 at 10:27 PM

    I love reading your tutorials and last week made MMF fondant and considering it was my first time I have to admit it came out great following your steps. I was commissioned to make a fire eating fierce dragon cake for our grandson’s birthday and have a question about using gum paste. After I formed the dragon which I made a few days earlier the gum paste started to wrinkle. It was OK in this instance because it made the dragon look a little more fierce but I was wondering how I can avoid this in the future. The gum paste was very pliable and I had no problem with stickiness but I’m wondering if I should have used more Crisco on my hands? Would that have helped? Thanks.

    Reply
  2. Juniper Cakery

    March 26, 2013 at 10:05 AM

    What a fun cake for Easter. We love it’s little tuft of feathers sat atop it’s head! Kind regards, Juniper Cakery

    Reply
  3. gihan

    March 23, 2013 at 2:50 PM

    what can I say! Perfect, I love to read your tutorial articles. Louise you are the best 😉 gihan

    Reply
    • Louise

      March 23, 2013 at 5:40 PM

      Gihan, this fab chick cake is made by one of my talented co writers Beth 🙂

      Reply
  4. Cindy

    March 18, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    So adorable!! I am going to try it for Easter. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Renee

    March 18, 2013 at 1:44 PM

    This cake is so cute Beth! And I love the information about the internal support structure. That’s really helpful 🙂

    Reply
  6. Rachel

    March 18, 2013 at 11:49 AM

    A brilliant chick!! You could also stabilise the bird with a sausage of fondant that matched the base?? that way it would look like it was just sitting on a hill. The frineg and cheeks are ace though definitely a chick with attitude.

    Reply
  7. Gillian

    March 18, 2013 at 10:52 AM

    Utterly brilliant. Thanks for sharing Beth! Xxx

    Reply
  8. katie Apple&Spice

    March 18, 2013 at 7:48 AM

    Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing you hints and tips. I love seeing your cake develop, layer on layer

    Reply
  9. Regula

    March 17, 2013 at 7:53 PM

    Hi Beth
    He’s fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing and for your detailed
    tutorial.
    Regula

    Reply
  10. Judy

    March 17, 2013 at 7:23 PM

    How adorable! What an easy fun Easter Cake!!

    Reply
  11. Decadent Diva

    March 17, 2013 at 4:42 PM

    That is adorable! I Love it!

    Reply
  12. Rebecca

    March 17, 2013 at 2:07 PM

    OMG,I love love love this cake! How super cute! I doubt though that I would be able to place the fondant as great as you did 😉 Love to look at your pictures 😀

    Reply

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