Gluten-free chocolate pig cake

Posted on | by Free-From Heaven

This gluten-free chocolate pig cake is so much fun to make, but even more fun to eat! 

Gluten-free chocolate pig cake

Gluten-free chocolate pig cake

By Christiana Botziou (www.theglutenfreegreek.com)

Serves 10-12 | Prep 45 mins plus chilling | Cook 1 hr | Calories 642 (per serving)

GF  V MF

Ingredients

  • 4 packets of Tesco Free From Gluten-Free Belgian Chocolate Wafers or gluten-free chocolate fingers
  • 90g (3oz) ground almonds
  • 200g (7oz) gluten-free self-raising flour
  • 225g (8oz) butter, softened
  • 225g (8oz) caster sugar
  • 4 free-range eggs
  • 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling and cake covering:

  • 200g (7oz) dark or milk chocolate
  • 25g (1oz) butter
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 150g (5½oz) icing sugar, sieved

For the ganache:

  • 100g (3½oz) dark chocolate
  • 150ml (5fl oz) single or double cream
  • 25g (1oz) butter

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line two 20cm (8in) baking tins with baking paper.
  2. For the cake, in a bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and continue to beat, gradually combining in all the other cake ingredients.
  3. Transfer the cake mixture evenly into the baking tins and bake for 1 hour. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave to cool.
  4. For the filling, over a pan of boiling water, place a bowl with the chocolate, butter and milk. Once melted, mix in the icing sugar to a smooth paste.
  5. Using the chocolate mixture, sandwich the cakes together, then spread the rest around the sides and the top.
  6. Break the wafers into strips and place around the edge of the cake. Tie with a piece of string. Set in the fridge.
  7. Once cool, make the chocolate ganache. Melt the chocolate and butter together and add the cream, mixing to a liquid.
  8. Once it has cooled a little, pour on top of the cake to make it look like mud. Pop straight back into the fridge.
For the bathing pig:
  1. Take 20g (¾oz) pink icing and roll into a ball for the head. Take 30g (1¼oz) for its tummy and roll into another ball.
  2. Make 4 pea-sized balls for the trotters. Make a small oval shape for the snout and 2 small triangles for the ears. Using a toothpick or decorating utensils, make the indentations. Attach the ears, head and snout with edible glue.
For the sitting pig:
  1. Follow the same process as above except you need 5g each for the arms, rolled into a sausage shape.
For pig bottoms:
  1. Roll 20g (¾oz) icing into ball.  Make an indentation for the bottom cheeks, then make a little hole. Roll the fondant out into a thin worm shape and twirl into a little tail. Attach with edible glue. Use sugar balls for the eyes.
  2. Remove the cake out of fridge, then add the piggies. Tie the cake with a nice ribbon.

Follow Christiana Botziou on Twitter @glutenfreegreek and on Instagram @glutenfreegreekuk