Totoro Dessert Sandwich for "My Neighbor Totoro"

(Drawn on my handy iPad.)

           On April 16th twenty five years ago the beautiful and heart-warming Studio Ghibli animated film "My Neighbor Totoro" ("Tonari no Totoro") was released in Japanese theaters. Today it is available in many languages and is set to be released on blu-ray next month (US 5/21).

          I first watched this movie on VHS (VHS, what's that?) when I was a teenager in the 90s. It tugged at my heart and I fell in love with the beauty of Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli films. I wanted to jump on Totoro's furry belly so bad (I still do)!
         
          In honor of Totoro's 25th anniversary here's a little somethin' something' I put together--a quick iPad drawing and a strawberry, chocolate hazelnut, & marshmallow creme sandwich.
(Click on the image to enlarge.)

♡ Check out Rosanna Pansino's Totoro & Soot Sprite macaroons on Nerdy Nummies! ♡

♡ And these cute Totoro cookies from Quake n' Bake! ♡

Tikka Mahala Curry | Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

          "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch", from Level 5 & Studio Ghibli, is one of my favorite games of all time. We had it on pre-order almost two years before it was released and I waited outside Game Stop before the shop opened on the day it came out here in the US (I didn't need to wait, I just wanted to start playing it as soon as I could!). B was already gone for basic training so this game was all mine. I played the heck out of it and loved every minute of it (Smalls loves this game too. She points at Oliver and says her own name and then at Esther and Swaine for mommy and daddy respectively). This game dominated my creative mind for about a month and I thought of the various foods I'd love to recreate. Hence why my first "Food Adventures" post was "Ni no Kuni" Familiar's Creamy Flan.
          This curry is one of the foods that gave me the extra push to start this blog. I began this post about two months ago but wanted to wait until I moved and settled in a bit before I made the meal. I wanted to give it the proper focus and attention. The wait was worth it. This curry is delicious.

"Monster Hunter Tri" Cha Cha Mask Cake

          B's birthday was this past Friday so I made him a special cake--the enthusiastic little companion, Cha Cha, from Monster Hunter Tri! MH3 is one of B's fovoritest games, which includes the new Ultimate edition for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The cake I made for him is specifically of Cha Cha's signature acorn mask.
          For the cake design I went mostly off of the happy chibi (cute cartoony) images that can be found for game promotion as well as the menu screen icons for both the 3DS and Wii U. The chibi traits include the happy expression, pink cheeks, and over all lack of detail. I also incorporated aspects of the in-game CGI character such as the holes in the mask jaw and the positioning of the mask "teeth". Comparisons can be seen in the second image below.

Cha Cha Acorn Mask Cake

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Ingredients:
❂ 2 boxes Chocolate Cake Mix
❂ Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (store bought or homemade)
❂ Marshmallow Fondant (recipe here)
❂ Gel Icing Colors
❂ White Cookie Icing

Important Items:
❂ Wooden Skewer
❂ 2 Toothpicks
❂ Straw

Directions:
❂ Make the cakes in two 9x13 in. pans according to the package directions & let them cool completely (placing them in the freezer helps).
❂ While the cakes are cooling get out your marshmallow fondant (recipe here) & separate it into 6 balls, 1 large, 2 medium, & 3 small.
❂ Color the fondant according to the images of Cha Cha in this post or the image of the fondant pieces below. I have a certain set of Wilton icing color gels so the color combinations I used to get the--somewhat--correct colors are yellow + green for the mask face, black + brown for the mask jaw, black for the mask mouth opening, orange + pink for the cheeks, pink for the flower petal-ish mask top, & green for the leaf at the very top.❂ Cover the fondant balls in shortening & wrap them separately in plastic wrap until you are ready to use them.

❂ When your cakes are completely cool, gently flip them onto a lightly floured work surface & then carefully turn them over so that the tops are facing up.
❂ Level the cakes horizontally by trimming down the rounded tops so that the cakes are equal & flat. Cut the cake edges as well. *
❂ Slather a decent amount of chocolate buttercream frosting on the top of one cake & then carefully place the second cake on top, bottom up, making sure it is center.
❂ Using a long sharp knife, vertically cut along the edges of the cake to create the contour shape of Cha Cha's acorn mask (image shown right).
❂ Carefully transfer the cake onto a cake board or round, foil covered cookie sheet & cover the entire cake (top & sides) with a layer of chocolate butter cream frosting. ♥
❂ Now it's time to apply the fondant before the buttercream stiffens. See the diagram below for the general shapes of the fondant you will need (the image is not to scale). Roll the fondant thin, like a sheet. When rolling out the fondants for the mask base (black, yellow-green, dark beige), make them about an inch or more larger than the needed size so that the ends of the fondant go beyond the bottom of the cake.

❂ Roll the black fondant & with a small, sharp knife, cut it into a wide strip that will look like a low belt when applied to the cake. Lay it onto the buttercream topped cake, press down lightly, & then gently smooth it out with your hands.
❂ Next apply the yellow-green fondant in the same manner. Roll & cut it into a shape rounded at one end (the top of the head) & slightly concave at the other end (the smile). Let it overlap the black fondant a little bit when you apply it to the cake.
❂ Next is the dark-ish beige jaw of the mask. Roll & cut it rounded at the bottom edge. For the "teeth" part you can either go by the design of the cartoon Cha Cha (tooth up in the middle) or the in-game Cha Cha (down in the middle). Apply this fondant in the same way as the green fondant, letting it overlap the black.
❂ Smooth these fondants over the top & sides of the cake & cut the excess away (a pizza cutter works well for this) at a 45 degree angle from the cake base. Gently push the edges of the fondant into the cake bottom using your fingers.
❂ Roll the orangey-pink fondant & cut a circle from it using the top of your shortening canister.
❂ Cut this circle into fourths & place two of the pieces in front of you, round sides facing each other & pointy corners on the bottom. Round out the upper right corner of the piece on your right & the upper left corner of the piece on your left (so the two tops corners of the pieces will be rounded & the two bottom corners will be pointy).
❂ Using the cookie icing as glue, apply these fondant cheek pieces to the appropriate places on the cake (see images).
❂ Roll & cut the plain pink fondant into a petal shape at one end, not worrying about shaping the part that will go down the side of the cake (that can be square-ish) & apply it to the top of the cake, again using the cooking icing like glue.
❂ Roll & cut the plain green fondant into the shape of two identical three pointed leaves.
❂ Place the non-pointy end of your wooden skewer onto the center of one of the leaves & then place one toothpick each in the center of the side points of the leaf, overlapping the skewer at the bottom.
❂ Place the other leaf on top & press down gently, smoothing the edges together so that the toothpicks & top of the skewer are sealed within the leaf fondant pieces.
❂ Carefully pierce the top side of the cake with the pointy end of the wooden skewer & slide it into the cake until the leaf is sitting snuggly against the pink fondant.
❂ Using the straw, cut three flat circles of black fondant, press them gently between your fingers to make them a little larger & then, using cookie icing, affix two of them to the jaw of the mask as shown in the images.
❂ Next, gently press the straw into the center of the jaw to make a hole. Move the straw around so that the hole becomes a little larger than the straw. Remove the straw.
❂ Cut a 2 1/2 inch section from the straw & wrap it in a thin piece of the dark-ish beige fondant & carefully press it into the hole, leaving about an inch above the surface of the cake.❂ Using the cookie icing, apply the third circle of black fondant to the top of the fondant wrapped straw.
❂ For the eyes of the mask, apply a layer of the white cookie icing in the design shown for the happy face (spirals with straight/flat bottoms). Let this dry (it will dry quickly) & then apply another layer. ★
❂ To store the cake do not put it in the refrigerator! This will cause the fondant to loose its texture when it is removed from the fridge because of condensation. Simply leave the completed cake on the counter & cover it with a cardboard box. This way the fondant can "breath" & it will be protected from dust etc.

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* There will be a lot of cake cut away. Store it in a plastic container for making cake pops later (recipe soon!).
♥ If the frosting pulls up pieces of cake continue to frost the cake as best you can & then place it in the fridge so that the frosting can harden a bit. Remove the cake from the fridge & apply another layer of buttercream. This time it will go on smoother & not pull up cake.
★ You can use a toothpick to gently scrape away or push around the cookie icing to correct any mistakes.

The Basics: Marshmallow Fondant

          Fondant is a versatile ingredient when making special cakes, as a smooth covering in place of frosting or for detail decorations, but the store bought kind, though very convenient, is hyper sugary. There are a few homemade alternatives, one of which is made out of marshmallows.

Marshmallow Fondant

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Ingredients:
1 bag (16 oz.) Mini Marshmallows (white) *
2 + Tbsp. Water
2 lbs. Powdered Sugar (or icing sugar)
1/2 cup shortening
Gel Icing Colors (not needed if you want white fondant)

Directions:
1. Empty the bag of mini marshmallows into a large microwave safe bowl & add 2 Tbsp. of water. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, & then continue to microwave & stir at 30 second intervals until the marshmallows are completely melted.
2. With the shortening, generously grease your hands & a countertop work surface. ♥ Pour a large portion of the powdered sugar onto the melted marshmallow mixture & then turn out onto the greased work surface. Be careful in case the marshmallow mixture is still hot!
3. Knead the powdered sugar into the marshmallow mixture, re-greasing your hands & counter top whenever the marshmallow mixture starts getting sticky. Add the rest of the powdered sugar & kneed it into the marshmallow mixture. Add very small amounts of water (1/2 Tbsp. or so) to the fondant if it becomes too dry & continue to kneed until it is smooth & elastic, but not sticky. Kneed until no spots of powdered sugar remain in the fondant. ★

Adding Color:
1. To add color to the fondant, re-grease your hands & select your desired gel icing color, or colors if you need to combine colors (gel colors are used instead of liquid colors because liguid colors can change the texture of the fondant). Using a toothpick place a small amount of gel onto your fondant & work it into the fondant using your hands. Continue to apply the gel coloring in small amounts & work it in until you reach your desired color. ♦

Using on a Cake:
1. If you are using your fondant to lay over a cake, roll it thin with a greased roller (preferably plastic), 1 inch or so larger than the cake so that the edges of the fondant will drape beyond the cake bottom. The cake top & sides should be frosted with buttercream frosting (recipe here).
2. Sprinkle a very little amount of powdered sugar or cornstarch onto the surface of the fondant & loosely roll it onto the rolling pin. Gently unroll the fondant onto the surface of the cake & carefully smooth the fondant over the cake & down, against the sides.
3. Using a pizza cutter or a small knife, cut the excess fondant away from the bottom edges of the cake at about a 45 degree angle. Roll the excess fondant into a ball & save for later. ★

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* You could use the pink or chocolate marshmallows (separately) if you want pale pink or pale brown fondant. You can also use marshmallow creme instead of mini marshmallows & forgo the first two steps listed above.
♥ The shortening will help prevent the marshmallow mixture from sticking to your hands & work surface.
★ If you are not using the fondant right away you can smooth it into a ball covered in shortening, wrap it in plastic wrap, place it in a plastic bag, squeeze out the air, & then store it overnight in the fridge. You can also store unused or excess fondant this way. I have read different sources that say the fondant doesn't need to be refrigerated. I made some fondant and wrapped it up & simply enclosed it in an airtight plastic container and stored it in my pantry. I used it weeks later on a cake & it was perfectly fine.
♦ If you would like to make several colors of fondant, simply separate the white fondant into however many colors you'll need & cover the fondant pieces you are not currently working with in shortening & plastic wrap until needed.

The Basics: Buttercream Frosting

          Buttercream frosting is a standard in icing. It can be used as normal frosting or as the "glue" between cake and fondant or for making cake decorations like roses, pearl strands, and more. It's also great on cookies! Below you'll find a recipe for basic buttercream as well as a spin on the basic using greek yogurt!

Basic Buttercream Frosting

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Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract (or flavor of your choosing, preferably clear)
4 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp. Milk

Directions:
1. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter in a large bowl & then add the vanilla. *
2. Next, add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go.
3. Add the milk & beat until the frosting is nice & fluffy. ♥
4. Keep the frosting bowl covered with a damp towel until you're ready to use it. ♦

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* If you want to make chocolate buttercream frosting simply add 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or three melted unsweetened chocolate squares [1 oz. ea.]) to the creamed butter at the same time you add the vanilla extract.
♥ If you want thinner frosting, simply beat in a couple more tablespoons of milk.
♦ To color the frosting add your desired gel icing color(s) to the completed frosting using small amounts via a toothpick. Stir the color into the frosting until the color is fully incorporated & you've reached your desired color. Keep in mind that colors in buttercream deepen after 1-2 hours.

Greek Yogurt Buttercream

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Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, softened/room temperature
1/3 Cup Greek Yogurt (Fage brand is wonderful), room temperature
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract (or flavor of your choosing, preferably clear. I love Almond in this recipe!)
5 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted

Directions:
1. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter & greek yogurt in a large bowl & then add your flavoring of choice. *
2. Next, add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go until the frosting is nice & fluffy. The magical thing about this is that the frosting tastes even better after it sets a while & the flavors get settled in together. Very yummy!