Spike The Hedgehog Cake
This endlessly cute character cake, featuring ‘Spike’ the Hedgehog, was made by Jacqui Kelly using Renshaw Marzipan. It requires some artistic flair and skill to execute, and it’s perfect for those looking to create something full of personality and lively detail.
A mix of 50% Belgian Chocolate Modelling Paste and 50% Marzipan works really well for modelling animals, as it has the most wonderful texture.
Uploaded by Aaron Akpojaro
Decorating ingredients
- Renshaw Original White Marzipan
- Renshaw Teddy Bear Brown Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Renshaw Belgian White Chocolate Modelling Paste
- Renshaw Belgian Milk Chocolate Modelling Paste
- Renshaw Yellow Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Renshaw White Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Renshaw Orange Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Renshaw Ruby Red Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Renshaw Lincoln Green Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Renshaw Flower and Modelling Paste
- Renshaw Dark Brown Ready to Roll Fondant Icing
- Rainbow Dust Paint Metallic Light Silver
- Rainbow Dust Liquid Colours (Orange and Brown)
- Rainbow Dust Powder Colours (Cream, Dusky Pink, Chestnut and Chocolate Brown)
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Instructions
Prepare your equipment:
Step 1
You will need; Dresden tool, bone tool, small craft knife, small sharp scissors, water and paint brushes, various round cutters, wooden skewer, cake and cake drum, tin foil, texture sheets, rolling pins, various leaf cutters.
Making the head and body:
Step 2
Mix 50% marzipan with a little Teddy Bear Brown icing and a mix of white and milk chocolate modelling paste.
Step 3
Roll a smooth, crack free ball of blended paste and then roll it into a fat teardrop, repeat and for the second tear drop twist a skewer through it.
Step 4
For the head, turn the tip of the teardrop into the nose and push down lightly with your fingertips to mark in the eyes – don't go too deep.
Step 5
Using a craft knife or small pallete knife, insert a small mouth opening by wiggling side to side.
Step 6
Push down at either end of the mouth with the large end of a Dresden tool to indent dimples and form the chin. Stroke upwards from the chin to just under the mouth to form the bottom lip.
Step 7
With the spine on the back of the Dresden tool, stroke upwards to mark a groove in the snout.
Step 9
Fill the indents with white sugarpaste and smooth out, completely filling the space. Make sure they are even and in line.
Step 10
Using cutters or piping tips, cut two rust coloured irises and dark brown pupils from sugar paste.
Step 11
Brush with a little water and stick in place, ensuring that you can still see some white of the eye at the bottom. Next, roll two small sausages of paste and place them as top eye lids. The angle you stick them on at can change the hedgehog’s expression dramatically.
Step 12
Roll out some white sugar paste. Using a piping tip, cut out some highlights for the eyes. Stick them in place with a damp paint brush.
Step 13
Add a small brown oval of paste for the nose, plus a little white highlight on top. Push in the nostrils with the end of a paintbrush.
Step 14
For ears, roll two small tear drops of paste and push the tip of your Dresden tool towards the tip of the ear to indent.
Step 15
Widen out the inner ear with a bone tool and pinch in at the base, where they will join onto the head.
Step 16
Make LARGE holes in the sides of the head and, with a little water, stick the ears in place, pushing on the inside with a Dresden tool.
Step 17
Prop the ears up on two of your tools until they are dry, and scratch in some fur marks with a sharp craft knife going from the nose outwards.
Step 18
To make the arms, roll two small sausages of paste between two fingers. Make them thin at the wrist, and then flatten the paw and indent two lines to form three fingers on each paw.
Step 19
To make the feet, roll two balls and twiddle between two fingers for the leg. Flatten the foot down and bend it over. Pinch in at the heel and make the toe section wider, then indent two lines on each foot to form three toes.
Step 21
Once firm but not dry, trim the skewer and add the head (at a cute angle) and then the arms and legs.
Making the Spikes:
Step 22
Mix 1/3 marzipan with 2/3 chocolate flavoured sugar paste and divide into two balls; 1/3 for the head and 2/3 for the body. Flatten them out with the heel of your hand instead of a rolling pin. Keep them thicker in the middle, thinning out towards the edge
Step 23
Stick in place with a little water, and stretch and push into place firmly around head and body. Using small scissors, snip upwards from the front of the head moving down his back and round his sides in a random pattern.
Step 24
Break off tiny pieces and roll them into short thin carrot shapes. Stick them in place around the outer edge with water. You may also want to mix in some of the leftover body paste to lighten some of the spikes.
Step 25
Add some highlights and shadows by dusting with cream, chestnut and dark brown and add a little rose over his cheeks, snout, mouth and inner ears.
MAKING SPIKE'S HOUSE CAKE:
Step 26
Coat the double stacked cakes with a thin layer of sugarpaste. Add a little Teddy Bear Brown Icing to some marzipan and roll out a circle for the top. Emboss with the rings of a tree. Marble together Dark Brown chocolate flavoured icing with Teddy Bear Brown and marzipan to form rough flattened sausage shapes running up the sides of the cake. Texture with scrunched up tin foil and a Dresden tool to resemble tree bark.
Step 27
Mix together some rich colours – Renshaw Original Marzipan White, Teddy Bear Brown, Ruby, Orange, Yellow and Dark Brown Chocolate flavoured icing were used in the example.
Step 28
Roll out each colour and texture with a range of embossing mats or rolling pins, and cut random leaf shapes either free-hand or using leaf cutters.
Step 29
The more different colours, shapes and textures the better as it builds up an interesting texture on the cake.
Step 30
Place the cake on a cake board only slightly larger and fill the edge with a mix of green sugar paste and marzipan. Layer up the leaves on top falling over the edge to form a roof on the hedgehog’s house. Using an airbrush or dust colours add in highlights and shadows.
finishing up:
Step 31
Add Spike the Hedgehog to the top of the cake by inserting his skewer to hold him firmly in place. Create a tiny hammer and some silver metallic painted nails in Flower and Modelling Paste and Spike can be seen making repairs to his house in preparation of the coming Spring.
