I have to admit, this cake was a lot of fun to make! It was the first time I could really relax and let my creativity take over. I made this cake for a good friend of mine who has an obsession with Star Wars that not many could rival - except for my boyfriend who is arguably more of a fanatic!
For those of you who aren't quite sure what this cake is, it resembles The Sarlacc , a plant-like, omnivorous creature that first appeared in the film Return of the Jedi.
I took my inspiration from Yummy Crumble's cake recipe and design - she totally nailed the look and the flavours sounded amazing (Biscoff biscuits and salted caramel).
Serves: 12-16 people
Serving Tip: Save the remaining caramel buttercream and dollop a spoonful on top of the slice of cake
Time Management: Sponge and buttercream can be made a day ahead
Ingredients:
Caramel Bundt Cake
- 380g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 230g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150g granulated sugar
- 150g light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 250g buttermilk (milk and a few splashes of lemon juice)
Biscoff Madeleine's
- 2 large eggs
- 150g light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 70g plain flour
- 50g Biscoff biscuit crumbs
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of cinnamon (or more if you like)
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 225g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 family pack of cream cheese
- 1 jar of salted caramel sauce
- 350g icing sugar (plus more for the teeth)
Decoration
- 1 package of Biscoff biscuits (including crumbs for the Madeleine's)
- 1 jar of salted caramel sauce
- raw silvered almonds (or flaked if they aren't available)
Method:
Caramel Bundt Cake:
1) Preheat oven to 180C fan.
2) Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
3) With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy.
4) Add the eggs one at a time until each one is well mixed. Add the vanilla and continue to mix.
5) On low, add the flour mixture alternating between the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Mix well until combined.
6) Pour the mixture into a bunt cake pan and bake for 25-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
7) Cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
TIP: If you are making the sponge the day before, leave in the tin overnight and cover the top in cling film.
Biscoff Madeleine's:
1) Preheat the oven to 190C fan.
2) Lightly grease and flour your Madeleine pan.
3) In a food processor, blend a pack of Biscoff biscuits into crumbs, set aside.
4) Beat the eggs and sugar together until thick then add the vanilla and salt.
5) Sift the flour, biscuit crumbs, cinnamon and baking powder into a bowl and fold together until mixed.
6) Stream in the melted butter while slowly mixing.
7) Spoon a tablespoon of the batter into each cavity
TIP: If the Madeleine's rise too much, wait until they are cooled and cut risen sponge to make it flush.
8) Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. The sponge changes colour quickly, so be careful not to over-bake it.
Biscuit Tentacles:
1) With the remaining Madeleine batter, spoon the mixture into a small ziplock bag or piping bag and snip of a small corner or end.
2) Pipe the tentacles on parchment paper. The lines should be relatively thin, about 5mm, since the batter expands in the oven. I made the lines wavy with a point on the end.
3) Bake at 190C fan until golden brown, this only takes a few minutes.
Salted Caramel Buttercream:
1) Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Save a dollop of the mixture in another bowl to create the teeth.
2) Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined
3) Slowly add 350g of icing sugar to the salted caramel mixture and beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
4) Add icing sugar to the remaining plain butter and cream cheese mixture until thick.
Assembly:
1) Once the cake has cooled, drizzle the entire cake with caramel sauce.
TIP: I used a piping bag to drizzle the caramel
2) Full the pit of the cake with caramel buttercream
3) Cover the cake with Biscoff biscuit crumbs
4) Using the raw almonds, create the teeth by sticking the almonds into the interior walls of the pit
5) Using a small piping tip, pipe the buttercream teeth along the outer edge of the two Madeleine's.
6) Insert the two decorated Madeleine's into the pit to form a beak.
7) Surround the beak with the biscuit tentacles
TIP: Add bunting for more drama and height on the cake
