To make this super cool pug swimming cool cake, the most important thing you need is, well, a little bit of patience…. I’m by no means an artist and the closest I’ve gotten to anything like this is using play-doh with my daughters in the past. But I took my time with this and actually ended up with something I’m pretty proud of.
For the cake sponge I made ahead from this chocolate cake recipe. It works an absolute charm. I made a little extra batter to make the top sponge a little larger, to allow for the swimming pool part.
Also not shown in the video is the making of the pugs / beach ball etc… you can make this as advanced or basic as you like. Just take your time and wash and dry your hands between using the colours.
The buttercream is made by beating together the butter and icing sugar in a stand mixer until nice and smooth and creamy. Then plonk in the milk and cocoa powder. Beat this together until super smooth and yummy. There will not be that much, but you do not need a lot.
Stick one cooled levelled cake sponge on a cake stand and spread a little chocolate buttercream on top. Now sit the other cake on top. Cut out a circle to act as the pool and scoop out about an inch deep to form a small carcass – this will be the pool area! Remove any loose crumbs.
Roll out a small block of royal icing thin, enough to drape over the cake and cover the hole. Using your hands lift the icing to give enough movement so that you can tuck the icing into the hole and form the outline of a pool. Trim any excess. If you wish to add tiles to the surface cut up some blue icing into squares and stagger them in an area.
Frost the side of the cake lightly all the way around and then using kitkat bars (or similar) work your way around the cake to form a wall. The buttercream should grip and hold the chocolate bars.
Mix together the piping gel with blue food colouring and spoon carefully into the pool area. Now you have a cool looking swimming pool area fill it with any models you like, I also used cocktail umbrellas and a little sign made from bamboo skewers and cardboard for a cool effect.
I hope you enjoy giving this recipe a go, if you try it let us know how you get on! It’s a very fun thing to make.