How can I make this 'Bulge Cake' look more realistic?

[IMakeCrapCakes]

Don't ask but I made this cake on request. I am not a baker, just someone who makes cakes for friend's birthdays. This is for a friend but he's closer to other friends than me and they asked me for this design.

I wanted to do the trousers/shorts grey but I couldn't get the colour right so decided on white.

I was thinking, could I put some creases in somehow? So it looks a bit less 'cartoony'?
Would you know what it was meant to be?
TIA.
(Yes I've name changed). It's only a bit of fun, people know I am not a cake decorator! I've made 'novelty' cakes for a few different people but how 'wrong' they look is just part of it!

It was indeed a crystall ball! He is a psychic reader/clairvoyant 🙂 the ball was chocolate orange flavour and the base was chocolate and almond.

Ooh that sounds so good…

Thank you-how did your fairly recent one go? It went down well although I had mutual friends taking the mick and saying that he had thrown it out of his car on his way home (he hadn't).

Apparently it tasted great. I wouldn't continue if they looked crap and tasted crap. I needed one or the other 😊

Mine is for this weekend. I’ll bake Thursday evening or Friday morning. Decorate later on Friday.

Ah right! I hope it goes well. I'd love to see it if you're comfortable with that.

Yes, I’m planning to! It has been known that we’ve dived into it before taking a photo, but hopefully not this time 🤣

Here we go, @IMakeCrapCakes! I have a video but they don’t seem to load. It lacks your ambition, but does the job!

Ah thank you--That is actually really innovative! What's the rose made out of or is it a real one? I hope it went down well! What flavours did you go with in the end?

It’s an actual rose- the garden roses are great at the moment.
I’m disappointed with my trimming to help them stand- my maths was clearly lacking- but they did stand. The rose handily obscured the messy meeting point, it’s just the top corners. Effectively I shaped it as though there would be 4 logs, not 3. I should have had some flake or similar to top the ganache, but didn’t think about it until it was too late.
However, you learn by doing it wrong, so all is good!

Chocolate ganache with blackcurrant jam (GOAT jam for chocolate cake).
Elderflower, decorated with mint and marigolds. The sugary mint was addictive!
Lemon and rose.

All the flavours were popular, but the lemon rose was a surprise hit. I knew it would be nice but others were a bit unsure!

How did you make the sugary mint? The rose looks gorgeous. My garden is under renovation at the moment, I cannot wait until I can get planting.

I am definitely going to try blackcurrant jam next time I do anything chocolately. I made a chocolate orange traybake last weekend, went down very well. I blended two whole boiled oranges into it and covered it in dark chocolate and cinder toffee. Will see if I took a photo, can't remember!

Oooh…. This is at risk of turning into a cake appreciation thread… I’d love the recipe for the choc orange traybake! I make a kiwi chocolate cake whole blended kiwi in. Lots of fibre! I make it healthily, but it’s good enough to top with real chocolate and serve without telling people.

The mint was out of the garden, soaked in a glass of lemon and water, to make sure it was clean. Some I just poked into the cake like the flowers, some leaves I stripped and put up into the icing mix. When I spooned/drizzled the icing over the leaves came with it and settled into the top of the cake. Some of the drizzle collected in the sprigs as well. Pulling the sprigs off and eating them was great 🤣. The icing was powdered sugar with rose water and lemon juice, but quite thin so it glazed rather than iced the cake.

I may crystallise some flowers for cake decorating this summer. Roses and marigolds are both edible and pretty. There are lots of others but they aren’t in my garden at the moment.

https://cupfulofkale.com/vegan-chocolate-orange-cake/

I used this recipe but instead of zest/juice I blended two whole oranges. I decorated with the zest from a 3rd orange and crushed up some vegan cinder toffee (from tesco) too.

I am definitely going to try with kiwi fruit, can you actually taste it?

I haven't ever thought of using that with mint either, I love mint but have only ever used it for savoury recipes. I love a minted bean salad.

Kiwi cake… when the photo loads.

It says to mash the kiwi, but I trim the tough piece off and blend with the yogurt, etc.
Argh, it’s got eggs and yogurt, won’t work for you.

.

I can adapt it, no problem :)

Have you made candied peel? That would be fabulous on that cake. Lots of recipes around, I just wing it now. I save my citrus peel all year in the freezer then make a big batch in the run up to Christmas.

Let it dry well, and it will keep ages. I give friends/family chocolate dipped peel, truffles and other sweets. Yum.

I haven't ever tried that, but I will!

I have three oranges left over that I don't know what to use for.... I live alone and don't like them personally so won't be eating them.

@pickledandpuzzled if you have time could you please talk me through your method of candid peel?

Of course! I peel oranges carefully- draw segments in the peel then peel them off. Cover peel with water and bring to the boil, change the water and repeat.

put equal quantities of water and sugar into a pan, dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil. Let it simmer until the white areas of pith are turning transparent, and/or the syrup is thick or gone. Keep an eye near the end. Add water if you think it needs longer.

fish the peel onto a rack to drip dry over several days, or put in the fan oven with no heat, just fan to speed it up.

when it’s dryish layer into a tub with caster sugar between the layers.

you end up with a texture almost like a fruit pastille. It’s moorish! You can eat it, cook with it, or half dip it in dark chocolate.

Thank you.

Sound absolutely delicious (and I do not have a sweet tooth at all, but that I could get on board with)!