How to Make Giant Gingerbread Man Cake (Bonus Snowman Cake Pops)!

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GIANT GINGERBREAD MAN CAKE (BONUS CAKE POPS)
Yield: One 8 x 11 inch Square Pan Cake & 10 pieces Cake Pops
Active time: 2 1/5 hours
Total time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS
Fondant:
200 grams Marshmallow
2-3 tablespoons Water
400 grams Icing Sugar
50 grams Vegetable Shortening

Frosting:
180 grams Milk
3 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
80 grams Brown Sugar
180 grams Unsalted Butter
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Ginger Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Cake Batter:
290 grams All-Purpose Flour
2 2/3 teaspoon Ginger Powder
1 1/3 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1/3 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/6 teapoon Cloves
2/3 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/3 teaspoon Salt
240 grams Boiling Water
2/3 teaspoon Baking Soda
265 grams Unsulphured Molasses
200 grams Granulated Sugar
96 grams Vegetable Oil
133 grams Whole Eggs
15 grams Mixed Peel

Cake Pops:
White and Dark Chocolate
Lolipop Stick

INSTRUCTIONS
Marshmallow Fondant
1. Mix marshmallows and water, microwave it in 30 seconds intervals (or in double boiler), stirring in between, until the marshmallows completely melted.
2. Add in ¾ of the icing sugar and mix (you can add any flavouring extract if you want).
3. After the fondant comes together, turn marshmallow mixture onto the counter. Add some more left over icing sugar, and continue kneading until it’s form a firm nice and smooth elastic ball (if it starts to feel a bit dry, add 1/2 tablespoon of water at a time and knead it again until it feels soft and pliable) 
4. Once it’s kneaded, grease the outside of the ball with shortening to prevent dryness and then store them in a ziplock bag to keep it moist.
5. Colour it as needed.

Cake Batter
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Grease the pan, line bottom with a parchment paper, and grease it again.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
4. For molasses mixture, mix the baking soda, boiling water, molasses and the granulated sugar, mix it all through (it’s gonna fizz up a bit, keep on stiring until the sugar dissolved).
5. Add in the vegetable oil and eggs, mix well.
6. Then whisk in the dry ingredients into molasses mixture 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
7. Strain the batter to remove any lumps.
8. Pour mixture into a prepared pan, sprinkle some mixed peel and sink them into cake mixture.
9. Bake it in the preheated 180 C oven for about 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. After baking, remove it from the pan, let it cool completely on the cooling rack.

Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
1. Mix the flour and milk together, strain the mixture to remove any lumps. Cook on the stove or just microwave it in 20 seconds intervals until it just become a paste. Set aside and cool completely.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and salt together until it gets a really smooth consistency. Add in the cooled flour paste, beat for about 5 minutes on medium-high to high until it looks like whipped cream. Add in all the spices, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg along with Vanilla Extract. Mix until well combined.

ASSEMBLE
Gingerbread Man Cake
1. Slice the cake into 2 layers, top with a layer of frosting. Smooth it out. Place the second layer of cake on top.
2. Using gingerbread man template cutting the cake layers with a serated knife.
3. Cover the cake with frosting; using small spatula, apply a thin layer all over the cake (this is just going to lock in all of those little crumbs). Smooth it out , put it in the fridge for about 25 minutes to firm up a bit.
4. Rolling out the fondant on a corn starch surface to about 3 mm thick. Draping it over chilled cake. Working quickly with my hands just to get all the air pushed out from underneath that fondant (going around the head and the arms and the legs, gently press in the fondant). Using serated knife cut around the excess fondant.
5. Decorate them with gingerbread man fondant details.

Snowman Gingerbread Cake Pops
1. Crush left over cakes into fine crumbs. Take about 25 grams for the body, 10 grams for the head, roll it into a ball. Put the cake balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes (you don't want them to be frozen), so after about 15 minutes put them in the fridge and let them stay chilled there.
2. Dip the lollipop stick it into the melted chocolate just about a half inch, take it out and insert it straight into the large cake ball (insert it until past the cake ball). And then dip it into melted chocolate again, insert it into the small cake ball.
3. Dip all into the melted chocolate, tap it off with a gentle motion to remove any excess. Place it in your Styrofoam block to dry.
4. Decorate them with fondant and melted chocolate.