Lego Batman and a scrummy chocolate cake

This week was all about a Lego Batman cake for a special little boys 5th birthday then a last minute request for a chocolate cake for an 18th!  Both these cakes are firsts, my first novelty cake and technically my first chocolate cake - unless you count hubby's wonky Jaffa cake birthday cake!!

Let's start with the chocolate cake, even though I absolutely love chocolate cake it's something I've always let somebody else make rather than try myself.  I think it's probably down to my Nanna she made THE best chocolate cake in the world but took the recipe to her grave! I was asked for a simple chocolate cake with an 18 on top.  I turned to the chocolate goddess Nigella and found the perfect cake in Feast here's her cake!

I hope it was ok as it was short notice there was no time for a trial run - which is so much better for my waistline!  I was full of grand intentions of making chocolate numbers but that didn't work! - something else to learn!! So I made fondant numbers and 18 stars.  Here you have it my take on Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake  If it tastes half as good as it smelt it will be delicious!!

Next was another challenge a Lego Batman cake I searched my favourite place for inspiration - Pinterest!!  I came across this fab tutorial on how to make an anatomically correct Lego block!  Being married to an engineer must be rubbing off on me! I also found this fab Craftsy tutorial on making a basic Lego man, here's my first attempt using some leftover bits of fondant it took 10 mins and you can tell! But hubby was impressed!

I couldn't find a batman one so had to wing it but did find this fab you tube video to make Robin!  The basic lego shape is pretty straightforward its the faces I struggled with!

Here's the finished cake, I covered the cake board to look like a Lego base to complete the look! - what do you think?

a close up of Robin

a close up of Batman - can't see his face!

Then in a weak moment I said "there'll be plenty of cake left from cutting if you want I could make some cake pops for the party bags if you like!" What was I thinking!!!!!!  Anyway it was good practice! I made them into little Lego heads to keep in with the theme!  Something wasn't right with the chocolate it seemed to thicken quickly in the melting pot which caused issues don't know if it was do do with the amount of food colouring I put in which affected it! Anyway some of them were ok some looked like they should be used at halloween!  -there must be an easier way to cover theses scrummy little treats! 

the shocking backs of the cake pops!

 They looked better with faces painted on and in bags! I forgot to take a pic of them in the bags but here they are waiting for their faces to dry!

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