Polar Bear Cake with Store-Bought Angel Food Cake
To make things easier, this Polar Bear Cake is crafted from a store-bought angel food cake. This adorable dessert is not only visually appealing but also tasty with a luscious combination of homemade blueberry jam and cream cheese filling.
Equipment
- 1 microwave-safe bowl
- Plastic wrap
- 1 handheld blender or muddler
- 1 8-inch diameter bowl
- 1 Large bowl
- 1 Hand mixer/stand mixer
- 1 double-boiler Optional
- 1-2 sheets of cellophane/wax paper
- some Toothpicks
- 1 Large plate
- 1-2 Piping Bags
- 1 Star-shaped piping tip
- 1 Tweezer
Ingredients
For the blueberry jam filling
- 2 cups frozen blueberries 380g
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar 76g
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch 23g
- 3 tablespoons water 44ml
For the cake
- 1 14oz. angel food cake store-bought
For the cream cheese filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese 226g
- 1¾ cups heavy whipping cream 413ml
- 1 cup powdered sugar 130g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5ml
To decorate
- ¼ cup milk chocolate chips 42g
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips 42g
- 1 dash teal gel food coloring
- 2 pieces white chocolate chips Optional
Instructions
To make the blueberry jam filling
- Mix cornstarch and water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Set it aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, mix blueberries and granulated sugar. Put the plastic wrap lightly on the bowl, and microwave for 6 minutes at 500 watts.
- With an immersion blender or a muddler, smash blueberries to your preferences.
- Add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch mixture to the smashed blueberries. Microwave for 3 minutes at 500 watts or until the mixture thickens like jelly. Let the mixture cool in a refrigerator.
For the Cake
- Horizontally slice the angel food cake into 3 layers.
- In an 8-inch diameter bowl, place plastic wrap to cover the inside completely. Then place the angel food cake to cover all sides of the bowl.
- Pour some of the blueberry jam filling and keep layering the rest of the cakes to fill the entire bowl. Make sure the top layer ends with cake, not the jam filling. Once the bowl is filled, place plastic wrap and refrigerate the cake for at least a few hours or overnight until the jam is set.
To make the Cream Cheese Filling
- Place your mixing bowl in the freezer or fridge for 5-10 minutes before starting.
- Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until cream cheese is smooth and free of lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy whipping cream. Continue beating until a stiff peak forms.
- Keep it refrigerated until needed for decoration.
To decorate the polar bear cake
- Melt the milk chocolate chips in a microwave or with a double boiler. If microwaving, zap the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl with 15-second increments until melted.
- On a sheet of cellophane or wax paper, pour a small portion of chocolate to make chocolate disks (the polar bear’s eyes and ears). Similarly, pour some chocolate onto the sheet to make the bear’s nose. Adjust shaping the chocolate by poking it with a tookpick. Make sure the chocolate is thick enough so it doesn’t break when removed from the sheet. Let it dry until hardened.
- Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave or with a double boiler. If microwaving, zap the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl with 15-second increments until melted. Add a dash of teal gel food coloring and mix until well combined.
- Create a small disk on top of the chocolate disks for the polar bear’s ears. Let them dry until hardened.
- Once the chocolate pieces are hardened, remove the plastic wrap and invert a large plate on top of the bowl. In one quick motion, flip the cake upside-down. Remove the bowl and the plastic wrap that is covering the cake. *Make sure to use the plate you are happy with to decorate. This cake is very hard to transfer after being flipped on a plate!
- With ¼ of the cream cheese filling, cover the entire cake. Don’t worry if any blueberry jam seeps through – all will be covered by another layer of the filling.
- Put the rest of the cream cheese filling into a piping bag with a star tip. Start piping a small portion of the cream cheese filling until the entire cake is covered. Make sure to pipe extra filling where the polar bear’s ears will be at.
- Place the chocolate pieces on top of the frosting to create the face.
- (Optional) With a cooking tweezer, press down the pointy tips of the white chocolate chips to flatten then stick the white chocolate chips to the milk chocolate eyes to add some twinkles.