Alien Hatchling Cakes

Giving an actual pet as a gift on someone's birthday is extremely risky... this next recipe is not. Who wouldn't love this adorable little group? I used rolled-out modeling chocolate for the feathers, eyes and wings, and their chubby little tummies are filled with strawberry cake and fresh cream cheese frosting! The best part is you don't have to feed them... in fact, they'll feed you! Baking side note: I've recently discovered that it's best to not use salt in anything with strawberries... The berries tend to amplify the salt and I'm having better results by just omitting it all together.

• Ready In: 7 hrs 40 mins
• Yields: 3 hatchlings

Ingredients

• Strawberry Cake

• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1  tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 cup strawberry puree (made from frozen, sweetened strawberries)
• 4  eggs
• 3  cups  sifted cake flour
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2  cups white sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry gelatin, mix
• 1  cup  soft butter

• Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 4  cups confectioners' sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
•  shredded coconut (to coat the exterior)
•  pink food coloring (to coat the exterior)

• Modeling Chocolate Accents

• 16  ounces chocolate or 16  ounces  candies, melts
• 1⁄4 cup light corn syrup
•  cornstarch, for rolling out

Directions

1. For the Strawberry Cake:
2. Heat oven to 350°F Purée frozen strawberries and mix in a glass bowl with buttermilk, vanilla and eggs. Mix cake flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Cream butter in a stand mixer, add jello powder, sugar and beat until light and fully incorporated. Butter and flour a large muffin baking pan and one six-slot cupcake tin.
3. Alternate mixing the wet and dry ingredients into the butter batter until everything is fully incorporated. Pour into trays and bake large tin about 35-40 minutes and small tin about 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait ten minutes before removing from tins.
4. For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
5. Cream butter and cream cheese together in stand mixer. Once fluffy, add icing sugar one cup at a time and beat until airy. Add vanilla and salt and use to fill and coat your little aliens. Once they are the shape you like, roll them in pink coconut until fully coated.
6. For the Modeling Chocolate Accents:
7. To make the ears, feathers and wings, you will also need a small rolling pin, small leaf-shaped cookie cutters, modeling tools, powder pains and vodka to paint the eyes.
8. Warm corn syrup separately in the microwave. Melt down chocolate or candy melts, and once in a liquid state, remove from heat and mix in warm corn syrup. Mix just until it is the texture of soft serve ice cream. Wrap tightly in a plastic wrap and allow to set for 6-8 hours.
9. When ready to use, break off a selected piece and manipulate in your hands until it is soft and flexible again. If it's too soft, you can always fold in a little powdered sugar to help it set up a bit more. Once you have a flexible dough you can roll it out.
10. Roll it out thin (1/8 inch) and use the cutters and tools to create all the feathers and shapes. To adhere the feathers, eyes, and extras, whip up a bit of pink-tinted buttercream (1 stick of butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and a drop of red food color.) I also used this to build up the folds around the eyes and the feet.