Sheep Cake (Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Fondant)

I have been wanting to make a sheep cake for some time now. I keep seeing these ridiculously adorable stuffed sheep on Pinterest and have been dying to try to make one into a cake. 

When I was put in charge of Easter dessert I knew my opportunity had come. This cake is a super cute idea for Easter but also works if you are having a farm themed party. 

The coconut cake is fabulous on it's own too - in case you aren't into the whole decorating thing. But, I mean, come oooooon..... it's just so cute. 

Sheep Cake 

(Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Fondant)

Ingredients

Cake

3/4 cup butter, room temp

1 1/2 cup sugar

6 eggs, separated

2 tsp coconut extract

1 cup finely shredded coconut

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom of 3 round 8 inch pans with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the sugar until well combined. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, and then beat in the coconut extract. Stir in the 1 cup of shredded coconut.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Beat in the buttermilk, alternating with the dry ingredients, into the butter mixture. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter. Then fold the remaining egg whites in - be careful not to over mix and deflate the egg whites too much. 

Spread evenly into the 3 prepared pans.

Bake at 350 until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean and tops are golden brown, about 30 - 40 minutes. 

Remove to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack to cool completely.

You can freeze the cakes until ready to use. They are a bit easier to decorate if they are chilled, so if you are continuing on with the decorating now, cover and place the room temp cakes in the fridge while you prepare the frosting and marshmallow fondant.

Easy Buttercream

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temp

2 tsp coconut extract

3 cups of icing sugar

1 - 2 Tbsp of milk

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the coconut extract. Slowly beat in the icing sugar. Beat in 1 - 2 Tbsp of milk to reach a spreading consistency. 

Set aside.

NOTE - you can also used canned, store bought frosting if you prefer. 

Easy Marshmallow Fondant (small batch)

Ingredients

4 oz mini marshmallows

2 1/4 tsp water

1/2 tsp black food gel

8 oz icing sugar

butter, for your hands

extra icing sugar for kneading

Directions

In a microwave safe bowl, place marshmallows and water. Heat approx 40 seconds and then stir. If marshmallows are not completely melted, heat another 20 seconds. Stir until smooth.

Stir in the black food gel and icing sugar. You may need to add a little bit more icing sugar if it is still very sticky. 

Place some icing sugar on a flat work surface and scrape the fondant onto it. Cover your hands in a bit of butter to prevent sticking and then knead the fondant until it is not sticky and is fairly firm. 

The black fondant is for the sheep's face, ears, and legs. 

Easy Marshmallow Fondant (large batch)

Ingredients

1 lb bag of mini marshmallows (16 oz)

3 Tbsp water

2 lbs icing sugar

butter for your hands,

extra icing sugar for kneading

Directions

In a microwave safe bowl, place marshmallows and water. Heat approx 40 seconds and then stir. If marshmallows are not completely melted, heat another 20 seconds, stir, repeat if needed. Stir until smooth.

Add in the icing sugar - about 1/3 at a time. You may need to add a little bit more icing sugar if it is still very sticky. 

Place some icing sugar on a flat work surface and scrape the fondant onto it. Cover your hands in a bit of butter to prevent sticking and then knead the fondant until it is not sticky and is fairly firm. You may need to add icing sugar as you knead. 

The white fondant is for the sheep's wool.

To decorate cake:

Place one layer of cake on a serving platter and top with a little of the buttercream. Repeat with next two layers. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream. It does not need to be a thick coat as you will be covering it with fondant curls.

Using the black fondant - pinch off 4 small pieces about the size of your baby finger and roll into "sausage" shapes for the legs. Set aside. Using the photos as a guide, shape the remaining black fondant into a head shape and 2 ears. SAVE A PINCH of the black to form pupils and nostrils. Chill the fondant in the fridge to firm up - at least 30 minutes.

Press the head and ears onto the cake - you may need to use a bit of frosting on the back to get it to stick. 

Using the white fondant - pinch off pieces of fondant about the size of your baby finger and roll into a snake about the length from your wrist to the tip of your middle finger. Cut the snake in 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece up into a curl. See photo below for guidance.

NOTE - pieces do NOT have to be equal. Some can be small, some can be big. This is for the sheep's wool so all sizes are good.

Gently press the curls onto the frosting on the cake. Continue making more curls until you have enough to cover the cake. Place them all over the sides and top of the cake.

You will need to make just a few really tiny curls to go on the top of the sheep's head. A teeny tiny dab of water also works to help get things to stick. 

I used the round ends of my frosting decorating tips to cut out 2 different sized circles for the eyes. Then I used a teeny dab of water to get the black pupils to stick.

*Tah-Dah*

Cutest sheep ever. 

Oh, yeah....

And most delicious coconut cake ever. 

I happened to have some colored buttercream to use up, that is why there is pink and purple in there. You can color your buttercream for the filling layers if you like but it is not necessary. 

Forming all those curls out of fondant can take a little time. I recruited my nephew's lovely wife so it went a bit faster. If you have never worked with marshmallow fondant before then this is a good introduction. You don't have to roll it out or anything scary like that plus imperfections just make this cake cuter.