How to: 3D Wolf Head Cake

From time to time I like to make cakes. They started out pretty simple in the beginning - I recall spelling out names in smarties as decoration - but in recent years, they've gotten significantly more complicated and just a little more intense! My latest creation was a 3D wolf head to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday. The reasoning behind the wolf head is quite bizarre to be honest, but it was a great excuse for me to play around with some 3D cake making and rice krispie work. And since I was documenting the stages as I went along as friends asked for updates, I thought why not share the process on my blog for my own future reference or in case anyone else out there is ever tasked with making a wolf cake!



What you will need:

• Wilton 3D Skull Pan - this was a limited edition, novelty pan, no longer in production; however, you can find it on amazon!! 
• Icing bags (reusable or disposable)
• Wilton grass tip with coupler

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Cake Mix (or scratch option of your choice)
• Buttercream Icing - about 4-5 cups 
• Wilton Icing gels for colouring
• 1 Batch of rice krispie treats (unshaped) for detailing
• 2 chocolate chips

Instructions:

1) Bake and cool your cake. Cut the backs of the skull halves so they fit tightly together, then join them with icing. Give the outside a rough slathering of icing and place it in your fridge to set up.

2) In the meantime, prep your Rice Krispie treats. Remove the skull from the fridge, add cleaner coat of icing and then start shaping your ears, snout and neck. Having a picture of an actual wolf will help guide you here! Once you're happy with the rice krispie work, place the wolf in the fridge to set.

Note: you may need to keep a support under the snout until it fully sets to prevent it from drooping.

3) Once the rice krispies have setup completely (I left mine for several hours), ice the full wolf head with a final layer of smooth icing. Be sure to maintain the detail you've already created with the eyes, ears and mouth.

4) Separate your remaining icing into smaller bowls to make the following colours:

           Grey - main fur colour
           Yellow - eyes
           Dark grey - nose & mouth, eye detail, ears
           White - fur around ears, eyes and snout

Use the grass tip to give the effect of fur and ice all main parts of the head. Next ice the eyes and determine the placement of the nose - I used a cut-away piece of cake but you can also layer on another thin layer of rice krispies.

5) Add the dark detailing around the yellow eyes and add a chocolate chip or more dark icing as the pupil. Ice the nose and mouth, then finish it all off with the white fur detailing. Admire your work, maybe instagram it and then return it to the fridge until it's ready to head to its destination ;)

Note: I'm not a fan of 'fridge cakes' because I find they dry out quicker and in general I'm not a big fan of cold foods buttttt, you don't want the rice krispies reaching room temperature and wilting under the additional weight of the icing.

And that's it! Easy-peasy. If you're tasked with making a wolf cake or even a dog or cat cake, I wish you all the luck and positive vibes that it will turn out awesome! :)