Laurie’s Monkey Cake

My friend Laurie asked me to make her a cake for her birthday with her favourite childhood toy on top. This is ‘Monkey’. I had a small photo to copy that she texted me on my phone.

Back then I had only a little experience making fondant 3D figurines.

My biggest challenge on this cake was getting the arms attached to the body…

My biggest mistake was letting the pieces dry without giving them some way of attaching them onto the body later.

If you have little experience with figurines: note that dry fondant will not stick to dry fondant!

Not even with sugar glue.

HOW TO STICK FONDANT FIGURINE PIECES TOGETHER

One way is to attach 2 pieces of dry fondant together using fresh fondant or sticky fondant with water added to it.

Another trick that I have learnt much later on was that before the fondant starts to dry you need to create holes in the 2 pieces that will be attached with a support later on.

For example, in this monkey I should have used a lollipop stick or wooden skewer to make a hole at the base of the head and a matching hole (fairly deep) in the top of the body.

Then when they were assembled I would place that same stick or skewer into the hole (cut to the right length) to hold the pieces in the right alignment. Glue or wet fondant would also make them stick.

Anyway, the monkey did take a long time to make. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I was pretty happy with the result. Seeing the fondant version sitting next to the ‘real Monkey!’ makes me realise I did well.

Some light pink decorations themed the cake and formed a piped edge around the bottom. I know a lot of the decorations look a lot like Aimee’s 1st Birthday cake – the one with Winnie the Pooh!!

I sat Monkey on top of some green buttercream icing so he was glued down. Overall it was a pleasing result and Laurie LOVED her cake!