This fun gummy bear cake recipe inspired by the HARIBO Starmix purple Bear makes a great birthday cake idea and is easier than it looks!
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HARIBO Starmix has been around for more than 25 years (check out the Anti-Gravity Cake I made to celebrate 25 years of Starmix last year!). It is a treat that is loved, enjoyed and shared by the whole family. The great news is… it just got better!
Now with fruit juice, each piece is even tastier and there are new flavour combinations to add even more excitement. The iconic pieces – Heart, Ring, Bottle, Egg and Bear stay the same, but this fruitier, juicier mix is the best yet!
Whether it's the juicy Bear, the playful Ring, the Heart with its foamy bottom, the Egg with its jelly centre or the tasty cola Bottle, everyone has a favourite Starmix piece - what's yours? #MyStarmixFavourite
To celebrate the new mix, HARIBO challenged me to bake a masterpiece in the shape of my favourite piece - the purple Bear!
I’ve shared the full recipe further down this post and you can also watch the full creative process from start to finish in my recipe video below (click here to watch it on YouTube if it doesn’t load for you).
I don't think I've ever put quite as much thought and testing into a cake as I did this one! I tried various different methods and ideas to create the iconic purple bear in cake form, but my final 3D purple bear cake design turned out to be really quite simple and I'm SO pleased with how it came out!
If you're thinking of giving this cake a go and you're not very experienced with using fondant to cover a cake - don't be intimidated, I've got lots of tips at the end of this post to help you get it right and I promise that if I can do it, then you definitely can too!
HARIBO Bear Cake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 350g softened butter
- 350g golden caster sugar
- 7 eggs
- 350g self-raising flour
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp milk
To decorate:
- 150g softened butter
- 300g icing sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 700g purple coloured fondant icing
Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C (Gas mark 4/350°F). Grease and line a 30cm x 20cm (12in x 18in) rectangle cake tin and place 4 muffin cases in a muffin tin.
Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk together until well combined and fluffy.
Add the eggs, two at a time, whisking after you add each pair. Once the eggs have all been whisked in, add the flour, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk again until fully combined.
Place a large spoonful of cake mixture into each of the 4 muffin case and smooth over the tops with the back of a spoon.
Pour the remaining cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Gently smooth the top down with a spatula, then bake in the pre-heated oven - the cupcakes for around 25 minutes and the large cake for around 35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
Once the cakes are cooked, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before icing.
Whilst the cakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream icing. Whisk the butter until soft and fluffy. Add the icing sugar, a little at a time, whisking as you go until completely combined. Add the vanilla extract and whisk again until combined. Add milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until the icing is at the correct consistency for spreading.
Draw the outline of a HARIBO bear shape on a piece of A4 paper and cut around it to use as a template for your cake. To make it easier, you can print one off - I downloaded and used this gummy bear template for my cake.
Place your bear template on the rectangle cake and use a sharp knife to cut around it to create the base of your bear shaped cake.
Spread a layer of buttercream all over your bear shaped cake. Remove the cupcakes from their cases and slice off any rounded tops. Cover them in buttercream and place them, cut side down, on the cake for the bear's legs and arms.
Cut a round circle from one of the off-cut pieces for the bear's nose. Cover it in buttercream and pop it in place on the cake.
Top tip - don't throw away the rest of the leftover scrap pieces, save them and use them to make easy chocolate covered cake balls!
Once the cake is covered in the buttercream coating, pop it in the fridge or somewhere cool to allow the icing to set a little.
Roll the fondant out into a sheet that is big enough to cover the cake.
Carefully pick the sheet of fondant up (you'll find this easiest to do by rolling it carefully over your rolling pin), then starting at head end, carefully drape it over the cake, allowing the fondant to fall naturally to fill in the gaps between the nose and feet.
Gently smooth the fondant in place over the cake. Shape the fondant over any tricky shaped areas by gently pulling it away from the cake and smoothing it down around it - see my video to get an idea of the technique. Smooth the tops of the feet/nose and the sides of the cake, but don't press down too hard between them as the fondant will fall naturally and create a nice curved shape between them.
Once the fondant is moulded to the cake, cut around the edges to remove any excess and tuck the ends under the cake.
Gently press your thumbs into the ears to define the ear shapes and use a blunted cocktail stick to poke two small eye holes.
Serve and enjoy!
Top tips for covering a cake with fondant icing
Cover your cake with a crumb coat of buttercream first. This will help fill out any dips and smooth out the cake under the fondant, as well as helping the fondant to stay in place.
Roll the fondant icing out on a large silicone sheet for a smooth finish. To stop it sticking, sprinkle icing sugar over the sheet before rolling out your fondant.
If your fondant is sticky (a common problem after adding food colouring), knead in a little icing sugar to dry it out a little. If it's a bit dry and starting to crack, knead it really well before rolling it out.
For a full sized cake, use an extra long rolling pin to roll out your fondant. I borrowed a 50cm rolling pin from a friend for this project and will definitely be investing in one for myself for future cake making!
If covering a shaped cake, make sure you don't roll the fondant too thin as this will make it more likely to tear.
Be slow and patient when you're draping the fondant over a shaped cake - allow it to fall naturally in any gaps between shapes so that it doesn't get stretched too much when you are shaping it.
When shaping fondant around awkward corners or shapes, gently pull the sheet of fondant away from the cake with one hand while smoothing it in place around the cake with the other (see my video to see this technique in action).
Use a plastic cake smoother to smooth and tidy up the fondant - it can really help to smooth out any lumps, bumps or cracks!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like my HARIBO Starmix Anti-Gravity Cake recipe!
Or how about one of these easy birthday cake ideas:
For more yummy cake recipes, check out the Cakes and Cupcakes section here on the blog.
Do you have a favourite Starmix piece? Let me know in the comments below! #MyStarmixFavourite
Grace
Disclosure: This recipe, video and blog post was commissioned by HARIBO. I was compensated for my time and the cost of ingredients, however all opinions expressed in this post are my own.
HARIBO Bear Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 350 g softened butter
- 350 g golden caster sugar
- 7 eggs
- 350 g self-raising flour
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp milk
To decorate:
- 150 g softened butter
- 300 g icing sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 700 g purple coloured fondant icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C (Gas mark 4/350°F). Grease and line a 30cm x 20cm (12in x 18in) rectangle cake tin and place 4 muffin cases in a muffin tin.
- Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk together until well combined and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, two at a time, whisking after you add each pair. Once the eggs have all been whisked in, add the flour, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk again until fully combined.
- Place a large spoonful of cake mixture into each of the 4 muffin case and smooth over the tops with the back of a spoon.
- Pour the remaining cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Gently smooth the top down with a spatula, then bake in the pre-heated oven - the cupcakes for around 25 minutes and the large cake for around 35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch
- Once the cakes are cooked, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before icing.
- Whilst the cakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream icing. Whisk the butter until soft and fluffy. Add the icing sugar, a little at a time, whisking as you go until completely combined. Add the vanilla extract and whisk again until combined. Add milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until the icing is at the correct consistency for spreading.
- Draw the outline of a gummy bear shape on a piece of A4 paper and cut around it to use as a template for your cake. To make it easier, you can print one off - you'll find a link to the gummy bear template I used in the blog post.
- Place your bear template on the rectangle cake and use a sharp knife to cut around it to create the base of your bear shaped cake.
- Spread a layer of buttercream all over your bear shaped cake. Remove the cupcakes from their cases and slice off any rounded tops. Cover them in buttercream and place them, cut side down, on the cake for the bear's legs and arms.
- Cut a round circle from one of the off-cut pieces for the bear's nose. Cover it in buttercream and pop it in place on the cake.
- Once the cake is covered in the buttercream coating, pop it in the fridge or somewhere cool to allow the icing to set a little.
- Roll the fondant out into a thin sheet that is big enough to cover the cake.
- Carefully pick the sheet of fondant up (you'll find this easiest to do by rolling it carefully over your rolling pin), then starting at head end, carefully drape it over the cake, allowing the fondant to fall naturally to fill in the gaps between the nose and feet.
- Gently smooth the fondant in place over the cake. Shape the fondant over any tricky shaped areas by gently pulling it away from the cake and smoothing it down around it - see my video to get an idea of the technique. Smooth the tops of the feet/nose and the sides of the cake, but don't press down too hard between them as the fondant will fall naturally and create a nice curved shape between them.
- Once the fondant is moulded to the cake, cut around the edges to remove any excess and tuck the ends under the cake.
- Gently press your thumbs into the ears to define the ear shapes and use a blunted cocktail stick to poke two small eye holes.
Video
Love this fun cake idea? Why not save this post to Pinterest so you can easily find it again!
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