My sweet little nephew ( Cousin's Son) is very into the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' and this year he requested me to make him a Caterpillar cake. At first I was super anxious about it, but when making a cake from someone who has expectations is always a little stressful. 
When trying to get creative I got my daughter to find her 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' book to give some inspiration on how to put this together. I definitely wanted to make the caterpillar 3D, but was completely sure about the rest. It think using the plain white icing on the cake was definitely a good idea, as it brings out the colours and fun element of the cake.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children's picture book about a a hungry caterpillar which eats alot of food before turning into a beautiful butterfly written by Eric Carle
The rainbow look i was going for came out pretty well - I probably should have put in a little more red food colouring to make it a little more brighter.
As my kids were off for the summer ( first week of the summer holidays) they wanted to help. They helped with creating the eaten food on the side of the cake, They made the lolly pop and ice cream. With all that effort how could I not put it on the cake! In a way it gives the cake more the child touch look!
Ingredients
16oz Margarine
16oz Caster Sugar
16oz Self Raising Flour
8 Tbsp Milk
4 Tsp Baking Powder
4 Tsp Vanilla
8 Eggs
1 Tsp Red Food Colour
1 Tsp Green Food Colour
1 Tsp Yellow Food Colour
1 Tsp Blue Food Colour
200g Soften Butter
600g Icing Sugar
2 Tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Milk
Strawberry Jam
Fondant Icing
In a mixing bowl using the all in one method add 4oz margarine, 4oz self raising flour, 4oz caster sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp vanilla.
Beat at medium to high speed for about 2 minutes.
Add 1 tsp of blue food colouring to the batter and mix for a further minute, pour into a greased and floured cake tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 170c until the cake is fully baked. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, and remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Again in a mixing bowl using the all in one method add 4oz margarine, 4oz self raising flour, 4oz caster sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat at medium to high speed for about 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of green food colouring to the batter and mix for a further minute, pour into a greased and floured cake tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 170c until the cake is fully baked. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, and remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Repeat again with 4oz margarine, 4oz self raising flour, 4oz caster sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp vanilla to a mixing bowl. Beat at medium to high speed for about 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of yellow food colouring to the batter and mix for a further minute, pour into a greased and floured cake tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 170c until the cake is fully baked. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, and remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack
Repeat again with 4oz margarine, 4oz self raising flour, 4oz caster sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp vanilla to a mixing bowl. Beat at medium to high speed for about 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of red food colouring to the batter and mix for a further minute, pour into a greased and floured cake tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 170c until the cake is fully baked. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, and remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack
Make up butter cream icing using butter, icing sugar, milk, vanilla and beating together. Then once all the cakes have completely cooled, stack up the cakes adding layers of strawberry jam and buttercream between each layer. It is easier to spoon the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe between layers to make sure each layer has a nice filling.
Cover the outside of the cake with buttercream, this helps the fondant icing to stick to the cake. Roll out white icing fondant and cover the cake. Then you can start playing and making the caterpillar and fondant 2D foods he has eaten through.
Enjoy this yummy rainbow delight! I wish I was at the party when the cake was cut to see how the inside turned out - but all family said is looked good!
