MRI Scanner Cake 2013

In which I bake another, more ambitious, MRI scanner cake...

The ISBE annual BBQ was on Friday so I had to once again attempt to bake an MRI scanner cake. I decided to go for a more realistic one than previously.

The basic cake is made using Delia's All-in-one Sponge recipe and then things get a little crazy as I make 4 of them.[1]

Ingredients

  • 32 oz (880 g) self raising flour
  • 8 tsp baking powder
  • 32 oz (880 g) margarine
  • 32 oz (880 g) caster sugar
  • 16 large eggs
  • 8 tbsp cocoa powder
  • strawberry jam
  • 2 kg ready made fondant icing
  • black writing icing
  • white designer icing tube
  • 8 chocolate rice krispie squares
  • icing sugar

Recipe

I split the mixture into two batches and made 2 cakes each time.

  • Add the rest of the ingredients.
  • Whisk together with an electric whisk.
  • Put into greased 9" round baking tins.
  • Bake for 45 mins to an hour until a skewer comes out clean.
  • Leave cakes to cool.
  • Use jam to stick the bottom 2 cakes together.
  • Cut a hole out of the two, top cakes using a pastry cutter.
  • Use jam to stick these two cakes to the top.
  • Use bamboo sticks to hold the cake together.
  • Use designer icing to fill any gaps where the cake has fallen apart.
  • Roll out two circles of icing slightly larger than the cake tin used to bake the cakes.
  • Use jam to stick icing to bottom and top of cake.
  • Roll out more icing and use jam to stick it to the outside of the cake.
  • Make a small square of icing to use as a scanner bed.
  • Use designer icing to stick together two rice krispie squares for each foot.


  • Use bamboo sticks to stick feet to the bottom of the scanner.
  • Put the scanner onto it's feet and decorate with your favoured scanner manufacturer's logos.
  • Enjoy!

Annoyingly this did start to give way though it did make it to the BBQ in one piece. Next year I'll make a better, less collapse-y cake :)

Tom Out!

[1] Delia Smith (2005). Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course. 2nd ed. London: BBC Books. 640 pages.