Frog cake
A knot of brown, pink and green frog cakes
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| Course | Dessert |
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| Place of origin | Australia |
| Region or state | South Australia |
| Main ingredients | sponge cake, jam, cream, fondant |
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The frog cake is a dessert in the shape of a frog's head, composed of sponge cake and cream covered with fondant. It was created by the Balfours bakery in 1922, and soon became a popular treat in South Australia. Originally frog cakes were available exclusively in green, but later brown and pink were added to the range. Since then other variations have been developed, including seasonal varieties (such as snowmen and Easter "chicks"). The frog cake has been called "uniquely South Australian", and has been employed in promoting the state. In recognition of its cultural significance, in 2001 the frog cake was listed as a South Australian Heritage Icon by the National Trust of South Australia.
The frog cake is a small dessert shaped to resemble a frog with its mouth open, consisting of a sponge base with a jam centre, topped in artificial cream and covered with a thick layer of fondant icing. The recipe today remains identical to the one employed when the cake was first produced in the 1920s. When manufactured, large layers of sponge cake are combined and cut mechanically into shape, covered in the fondant, and the mouth is then formed with a hot knife. Fondant eyes of a contrasting colour are manually added to the head, and the completed dessert is presented in a paper patty-pan. The fondant is normally brown, green or pink, but for special occasions colours can include variations such as red and yellow.
Having traveled to France in the early 1920s, Gordon Balfour, the nephew of John Balfour, (who was one of the co-founders of Balfours Bakery), found inspiration for the frog cake in European confectionery. The frog cake was introduced by Balfours in 1922 after Gordon's return to Adelaide, during a time in which tearooms were still popular in the city. It soon became known as the Balfours mascot, and has traditionally only been sold in South Australia, although they are now sold in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland as well.
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Wikipedia