Help! I've been tasked with making a platypus cake by DS

[MyMuffLooksLikeABeard]

How the heck do I get the shape?

Shall I bake a loaf cake and a round cake and attempt some kind of cut and shut job?

Have you google imaged "Platypus cake"?

I have and the results are NOT promising. There's not one good one out there!

I'd convince the child to have a different cake! Or I'd make a round cake, decorate it to look like a pond...and pop a plastic platypus on top!

I’d do two circles and cut. You need a template first.

Google indeed is very disappointing...

I looked for a cake topper and all I could find were platypuses in love for wedding cakes - wtf?

We've got a toy platypus, I could use that as a sort of template...

Check out "platypus birthday cakes" on Pinterest some great cakes on there

I would just focus on a head sticking out of water - much easier.

A round flat cake with blue icing for water and some green fondant water weeds.

A small second cake in a Pyrex pudding bowl for the head, iced with brown chocolate butter icing and use a fork for a fur effect. Then you just need to craft a duck-bill shape to attach to the front. For carving fiddly shapes like this I recommend buying a madeira cake and chilling it - it's a dense structure that holds its shape well when carved. You'd end up discarding most of the loaf but you can use the unneeded pieces for a trifle.

Chocolate buttercream - check
Black fondant for bill and feet - check
Round cake tins - check
I'll buy a Madeira cake as back up but I'd prefer to bake my own. That ways even if it looks terrible it'll still taste delicious!

Are you going to use chocolate flakes for it’s fur?

Ooh maybe....I like the idea of buying lots of flakes and just eating them..

So...best chocolate cake recipes. Do any of you have a fail safe go to recipe I can pinch please?

Good luck!

I'll post a picture if you all pro is not to send it to nailedit.com

Thanks!

but a platypus has a sort of cobbled together/designed by comittee look anyway, so probably will adapt well to cake

I recommend the "inmates cake" recipe in the Green & Black's recipe book - it's good and dense so holds shape well.

Do you or a friend have the book? Practically every kitchen I have ever been in has it but I don't know if it's universal.

Thanks. I don't have the book but a quick Google search helped me find a link to it on another Mumsnet thread!

Google Perry the platypus cakes ;)

My twins were VERY into phinies and Ferb and both had cuddly perrys

Perry is a no-go for us!