Welcome to how to cook that I am Ann Reardon
Today hello kitty has made it to the top of the cake request list ... with just a few
of you asking for a hello kitty cake All right here we go
You're going to need one quantity of italian meringue frosting because it is brilliant
white and it's light and it's fluffy it is just the perfect frosting for this cake.
If you haven't made that before there is video recipe showing how to do that just click on
the link in the description below this video to go to howtocookthat.net and all the recipe
quantities and the video explaining how to make it is there for you.
You will also find the cake sized hello kitty template there.
So print that out, cut one of the sheets through the nose and bow and use that to line it up
with the second sheet and sticky tape it into place.
Then cut out the face completely and this is going to be our guide for how big to make
details and exactly where to place them.
You are also going to need two 20cm cakes, you can use vanilla, chocolate, red velvet
whatever your favourite cake is.
Take one of the cakes and place the cheek of the kitty against the edge of the cake
and make note where the nose is because that is the central point of the face and cut the
cake straight down at that point.
Take your second cake, put it under the first one and cut it to exactly the same size.
turn it around, join them together and you will have the right width for your cake.
Then out your template over the top and using that as a guide trim off a small amount, just
a tiny bit at the top and bottom just to straighten up the middle edge there.
Next use one of your off cut pieces to cut two ears, again use your template as your
cutting guide and then you're going to need to round off the lower edge of the ear so
that it fits snuggly against the round cake.
Put them in place and then use your template to cut around again and get it exactly right.
The simpler a cake design looks the more exact it needs to be to make it look good.
Trim your ears to the same height as the height of the cake by slicing some off the bottom
of the ear.
And then you can put your ears to one side for now.
And slice through the cake in the centre so it gives you two layers.
Put a smear of italian meringue on your cake board to stop the cake from moving around
and put your bottom layer in place.
Now I am adding a thin layer of strawberry jam between the layers, you can use lemon
curd or any other filling of your choice.
Then add the top layer of cake and clear away any crumbs so they don't get stuck in your
frosting.
Pile some of your italian meringue on top of the cake and spread it out over the top
using a spatula or a palette knife.
Then spread it down and around so that you cover all the sides get more frosting out
of the bowl if you need it you've got plenty there just make sure you keep a little bit
because we will need some later.
Then using a flexible piece of plastic smooth off the cake.
If you go to a stationary store you will find plastic folders or document pockets there
that you can cut up and use for this purpose.
Then use a pallette knife to smooth the edges.
Now for the messy bit, take one ear at a time and cover it in frosting on the base and the
sides.
Put it into place and then use your spatula smooth cover the top and smooth the sides
of the ears to give the slightly pointy kitty ears shape.
To make your whiskers take some licorice and cut it thinner and use the template that we've
got to measure the length of each whisker.
Cut a longer thin strip of licorice and use it to outline the face.
Now if you don't have any licorice that is long in a roll like this in stores near you
or if you don't like licorice you can always use black fondant for this just roll it out
thinly into a long snake and outline it.
Because it is a cartoon character they always look better outlined because that's how they
are drawn.
Then hold your template above your cake, now don't touch the cake or the icing with the
template just hover it over the cake and hold your whisker in position, then move the template
and put the whisker down in place.
And repeat that on the other side.
This will just help you get it exactly how it is on the drawing so that it looks like
hello kitty.
Make an oval nose out of the licorice for the nose and again use your template as a
guide of where to place it on the cake.
Cut the two eyes out of licorice again you can use fondant if you'd rather and then place
them on the cake in exactly the right spot.
To make you bow you're going to need two 60g balls of fondant and one 20g ball of fondant
in the colour of your choice, most often you'll see it in red or pink.
Take one of the larger balls and squash one end of it between your palms just as shown.
And then put it on your template and flatten it with one hand while supporting the top
edge of it with the other hand so that you're keeping it within the shape of the template.
Repeat that for the other side to the bow, squash it and then flatten it and then keep
it in the shape of the template.
Next take a teaspoon and make an indent on each side of the bow, just like you'll see
on the picture of hello kitty.
And then take your 20 grams of fondant and roll it into a nice neat ball, place it in
the centre and flatten it slightly to get it to the right size using the palm of your
hand.
Gently pick up your bow and place it on your kitty.
You're nearly done just take a small amount of italian meringue and
mix it with some yellow colouring, put it in a ziplock bag, twist the top of the bag,
cut off the very corner Then hold it low in the centre of the nose and pipe frosting in
to fill the nose and you might need to use your finder to smooth it off.
It's kitty.
Next week we have a dessert video and then following week is chocolate so if you haven't
already put your chocolate truffle filling requests in yet make sure you do that this
week and put your dessert and cake requests below.
I'll see you soon thanks for watching, Bye [music by youtube.com/setsailtv The Boat Song
used with permission]