Since I first published this post, I got a new camera, made this cake multiple times and put these tips to the test. As you can see, there has been some shiny new photos and lots of delicious cake. Now you can make your cake and eat it, too!
I have wanted to make this cake for like, forever. It looked so delicious but so difficult, and I will not lie, I felt cake-tastically challenged.
After adding the task to my 101 things to do in 1001 days list, I knew I had to give it a whirl sooner rather than later and David’s birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity.
I have a track record of making cakes with candy, a lot of candy. Remember the Monster Maltesers Cake I whipped up last year? And how about that candy-fest of a Picture Perfect Birthday Cake that I produced for David’s big four Oh? As in “Oh, I think I’m in a sugar coma” for months afterwards!
Anyhoo, I spent hours watching you tube videos, googling recipes and having some epic cake fails, but in the end all was well that ended well. This cake is super deceiving, because although it looks really difficult to make, it’s not. It’s actually a doddle.
The best thing about this cake is that it looks totally terrific and everyone will think you are a baker extraordinaire for creating such a masterpiece, even though this cake can easily be tackled by a beginner baker. It’s that easy. David declared it the best birthday cake he ever did have, and that’s about the highest praise you ever could get.
After my extensive research, sleepless nights and religious bowl licking, I am now a self confessed Kit Kat Cake expert and am delighted to be able to share my 5 top tips.
1. What cake should you make?
This recipe works well with almost any type of cake, although it’s usually made with a chocolate sponge. Go easy on yourself and use your favourite-go-to cake recipe. The birthday boy expressed a preference for a plain sponge and his wish was my command. I made a double batch of this vanilla sponge Thermomix recipe, baked it in small sandwich tins and got 4 thinnish cakes. I ate one in the name of research and sandwiched the others together with some good old strawberry jam.
2. In the event of a cake fail…
This cake is very forgiving. My layers rose to big domes of pointy imperfection which caused me a lot of angst until I realised that it didn’t matter how bad the cakes looked because they were to be slathered in jam and buttercream. So don’t worry if the cakes aren’t lookers, as long as they’ve been in the cooker.
3. Get it covered
I used a batch of my favourite Thermomix vanilla buttercream. Obviously, add some cocoa if you’ve made a chocolate cake. If you don’t have the time or energy to make your own buttercream, I’m told a tub of the Betty Crocker ready made stuff will do the job nicely.
My trick is to put the cake on the serving plate with some baking paper underneath. Slather the cake in icing and then gently remove the paper by sliding it from under the cake before decorating with kit kats.
Just like this! Ta-da!
4. Be dandy with the candy
You will need about 3 family size kit kat bars to make this cake, plus maybe one extra just in case you need to” taste”, or have a faulty kit kat finger. One 200g bag of M and Ms should cover the cake, but as my icing was white, I used an extra bag to cover the cake in colour.
Make sure the kit kats are a centimetre or two higher than the cake because you want to leave some space for the M&Ms!
5. Kit Kat Care
Break the kit kats into double fingers. Just before placing the kit kats on the cake pop them in the freezer in a Tupperware layered with baking paper. This way you won’t get any unsightly fingerprints on your kit kat fingers.
To decorate, gently position the kit kats around the cake. Make sure each bar is almost touching, that way you will be able to cut smoother slices.
Tie a wide ribbon (about 4cm wide) around the cake after decorating. This will help keep the kit kats in position.
Then just cut that cake and make a wish!
Have you ever made a Kit Kat Cake? Got any top tips? What’s the best birthday cake you’ve ever made?
