Chocolate KitKat Birthday Cake Tutorial!

I say Tutorial; this is really more of a Vague General Guide.

What To Buy:
packet of M&Ms
13 (approx) four-finger KitKats
2 boxes Greens Chocolate Cake mix (or whatever brand you prefer)
eggs
milk
butter (get a large size)
vanilla essence
cocoa powder
icing sugar mixture
(use the cake mix packet and Icing recipe for ingredient quantities)

My boy became unwell on his 7th Birthday last week, and is still sick now. We had to cancel his Party, and he hasn't been able to eat any of his Birthday Cake, but he did manage to blow the candles out today. So here's the cake anyway. He wanted a KitKat and M&Ms cake again, but this year I thought I'd make a '7' shape on the top instead of covering the whole thing in M&Ms. This cake is already super rich, it really doesn't need five million M&Ms on top.

The cake is really easy to make, especially since it uses pre-mix. Beginners and inexperienced bakers would definitely be able to give this a go and get impressive results. I used two boxes of Greens (you could use White Wings or any cake mix) Chocolate Cake mix from the supermarket and made the cakes together in one large bowl, as per packet instructions. Because you're doing a double mix it really has to be a large bowl though, because you're mixing together twice as many eggs, twice as much milk etc. I never use a mixer as I can't be stuffed getting it out of the cupboard.

Once it's mixed, divide the cake batter evenly between two identical round cake tins and bake until a skewer comes out clean. Then once they are completely cooled down, cut the most uneven one straight across horizontally with a large serrated knife, and put aside the top (it's now scraps, but you can eat it later with the leftover icing).

Chocolate Icing

I decided to use this Chocolate Icing recipe again, since my son loves it so much. It's seriously the most fluffy, mousse-like icing I've ever made. I'm pretty sure this is because it's mostly butter, so it whips up like nobody's business. It's a little bit fiddly to make, but totally worth it. It makes a fair bit, and each time I make it, I have leftovers.

Time to get acquainted with the 13 KitKats you bought. At this point, I open them all up and carefully snap them all in half so I'm left with a whole bunch of two-finger pieces. Make sure they are all intact when you buy them or they could be broken in the wrong place! You will be sick to death of KitKats once this cake is finished, trust me.

I then put the bottom half of the cake on whatever I'll be serving it on and ice the cut top, then stick the whole other cake on top. It you want, you could easily have cut that one in half as well and do more layers, but I couldn't be stuffed. Once that's on, ice the top and all around the sides, so everything is covered in delicious fluffy icing and no cake is exposed.

Then arrange the M&Ms on top in the shape of a 7 (YAY a nice easy number!). Arrange the two finger KitKat pieces around the edges of the cake, pressing gently so they adhere to the icing, and you are done! 

Now go grab that leftover cake top, slather it in leftover icing, make a cup of tea and put your feet up for half an hour. You deserve it!