Dark Unicorn Cakesicles
A smidge spooky, these dark unicorn cakesicles are perfect for Halloween! This recipe is making them from scratch.
Servings: 8 cakesicles
Calories: 227kcal
Equipment
- Unicorn decoration silicone moulds see notes for alternatives
Ingredients
Cake (for filling):
- 55 g unsalted butter
- 55 g white sugar finely granulated e.g. caster
- 1 egg
- 55 g plain all-purpose flour see notes for self-raising swap
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk whole or semi-skimmed
Buttercream (for filling):
- 20 g unsalted butter
- 40 g powdered icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cakesicle coating:
- 160 g candy melts purple
- 2-3 tablespoon vegetable oil or sunflower or canola oil
Unicorn decorations:
- 10-20 g fondant icing black
Instructions
Cake:
- Pre-heat oven: 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F
- Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth, then beat the egg until fluffy and add this into the mix, beating until combined.
- Sieve in the flour and baking powder, folding in gently. Then stir in the vanilla extract and milk.
- Pour the mix into a lined cake tin and bake for 15-20mins until springy to touch and a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool fully on the side while you make the buttercream.
Buttercream:
- Cream the butter in a bowl using a spatula or wooden spoon until smooth.
- Sieve the icing sugar into the butter and beat together until fully combined.
- Add in the vanilla extract and stir together until mixed in evenly.
Cakesicle filling:
- Crumble up your cooled sponge into a large bowl, either using your hands or a fork.
- Mix in the buttercream until spread evenly. Your cakesicle filling should be able to hold together like a soft dough.
Cakesicle assembly:
- Melt ⅔ of the candy melts in the microwave for up to 30secs at a time, stirring between bouts until smooth. Add ⅔ of the oil and stir until you have a smooth melted candy.
- Spoon the melted candy into the moulds, spreading evenly with a spoon or brush, ensuring you cover the sides up to the edges. Tap your mould on the surface a few times to remove any air bubbles.
- Push the popsicle sticks partway into the moulds (about ½ inch / 1-2 cm), then put in the fridge for 5-10mins to set.
- Take the moulds from the fridge and fill them with cakesicle mix to just below the edges, pressing in gently to smooth the top.
- Push the popsicle sticks in until they sit roughly ⅔ of the way into the mould, pressing the cakesicle mix down if needed. Put the moulds back in the fridge.
- Melt the remaining ⅓ of your candy melts (30 secs at a time, stirring between rounds), then stir in the final ⅓ of oil mixing until smooth.
- Remove the moulds from the fridge and spoon the candy melts over them, covering the cakesicle mix completely. Place back into the fridge for 5-10mins, then carefully pop each cakesicle out of the mould.
Unicorn decorations:
- For the ears and horn, brush icing sugar into your horn and ear moulds and press fondant icing in before popping it out. Repeat until you have enough for each cakesicle.
- For the eyes, take a small pinch of fondant and roll it into a small log before cutting this in half to create two small cylinders.
- For the flower crown, brush icing sugar into your silicone flower mould and press fondant icing in before popping it out. Repeat until you have enough for 3-4 flowers per cakesicle.
- To assemble your decorations, brush the back of each piece with water before gently pressing it into your cakesicle in the desired position. If using, you can then brush on your lustre dust. Repeat the process for each cakesicle as desired.
Notes
Storage: Keep dark unicorn cakesicles in an airtight container at room temp. for up to 4 days. If it's hot where you live, store it in the fridge to prevent the chocolate from melting.
Substitutions:
- You can swap the plain all-purpose flour for self-raising flour and exclude the baking powder.
- You can swap the candy melts for baking white chocolate and exclude the oil. Add an oil-based food colouring of your choice.
- If you don't have a horn mould, pinch off a small piece of the fondant icing, roughly half the size of a marble. Using your fingertips, roll this out on a clean surface or baking mat until you get a thin sausage, thinner towards the ends. Pinch in the middle and twist the two ends around one another from the thick base to the ends.
- If you don't have an ears mould, pinch off a small amount of fondant, rolling it into a small ball and then slightly flattening it. Pinch one side into a tip and then use the handle end of a teaspoon to indent into the round bottom end of the ear, leaving a small border. Repeat for the second ear.
- The amount of oil that you add to your candy melts will depend on the brand of candy melt that you use. You should add enough oil to give your melted candy melts the consistency just thicker than melted chocolate.
- Be generous with your candy shell coating in the moulds to prevent breaking or see-through patches.
- Lightly press down the filling near the base of the mould when pushing in the popsicle stick. This will help prevent the shell from breaking.
- Pop your cakesicles from the moulds by holding the stick and gently peeling the silicone back from the end.
- Run a sharp knife around the edge after you've removed the cakesicle from the mould to cut off any excess chocolate.
- Depending on your cakesicle sizes, you may have some leftover cakesicle mix. If so, you may be able to make more cakesicles using extra chocolate, or you can just roll these into cake balls and eat them like truffles.
Nutrition
Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 52mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 264IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg