Fake Bakes archive note — September 2026: This recipe was created in 2022 using M&S products, yellow-sticker finds and prices available at the time. Retailer ranges, pack sizes, promotions and prices change, so the shopping list and £10 challenge below are a historical snapshot rather than a current stock or price guide. Check current product labels for ingredients and allergens before buying or serving anything. Browse the Fake Bakes hub for the series.
Colin the Caterpillar is perfection. Untouchable. But I wasn’t here to improve him - I was here to Fake Bake the impossible. And that meant taking on M&S, where the original 2022 £10 challenge budget did not go very far. I'd done a bespoke birthday cake in the Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, but that definitely wasn't a fake bake, where the rules were rather strict:
1) Strict £10 max budget
2) One shop only
3) No oven, no mixers (microwave allowed)
4) No extra ingredients (water allowed)
So if I couldn't improve on Colin, I'd have to reimagine Colin. That too within an unforgiving £10 budget at M&S. This was possibly the most challenging Fake Bake of the run.
I was bolstered by the success of my previous M&S Percy Pig Fake Bake and went forth as soon as I saw some yellow-stickered mini Colins. I filled my basket with a large Colin face, some Colin chocolate buttons, and had just enough left to get one chocolate layer cake, a chocolate Swiss roll and a bar of chocolate.
And then, disaster. No money left for frosting. I stared at my basket. Stared at the price tags. Stared into the void. Was this the Fake Bake that would break me?
Desperation breeds invention. With no budget for frosting, I tried a water-based chocolate mixture: no butter, no cream. It took a lot of whisking, but it worked for this particular 2022 cake. The bar weight and formulation were not preserved in the notes, so this should be treated as an archive-specific shortcut rather than a general chocolate-to-water formula.
After all the whipping my arm was ready to fall out of its socket, but getting a two-tiered birthday cake from the original £10 M&S challenge felt like a proper Fake Bake result.
Fake Bake Recipe - Colin the Caterpillar Cake
@angesdesucre £10 #colinthecaterpillar 2-tier M&S fake bake! Whenever Colin gets a yellow stick I’m on it like a hot scotch bonnet. #foryou #cakedecorating #fyp ♬ original sound - Reshmi Bennett
Ingredients
1x Ready-made Chocolate Sponge Cake (5" or 6" size)
1 bar of dark chocolate
Mini Colin the Caterpillar cakes
Colin the Caterpillar face
1 chocolate Swiss roll
1 bag of mini colourful eggs
Colin the Caterpillar chocolate buttons
Method
1. Prepare the cake decorating station with a cake turntable, angled palette knife, cake scraper, a cake board, a tablespoon, a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle, a small paring knife and a spatula.
2. In the original 2022 batch, I broke up one dark-chocolate bar, melted it gently and stirred in 3–5 tablespoons of warm water until that particular mixture came together. The surviving notes do not record the bar weight, so this is not a reproducible general ratio; different chocolates can seize or need different liquid levels. If recreating the look, use a tested chocolate frosting or ganache method rather than assuming the same spoon count will work.
3. When the prepared chocolate mixture has cooled a little, whisk until lighter and thick enough to hold a soft peak. Smear a dollop in the middle of the cake board on the turntable. Unbox the layer cake and place it on the cake board. Smooth some over the top with an angled palette knife.
4. Cover the cake and smooth it with a palette knife or cake scraper. Chill to set. Cut one end of the Swiss roll and place it on top of the frosted cake, cut side down. Cover the Swiss-roll top tier and smooth it.
5. Warm a little of the prepared chocolate mixture until fluid enough to drip, then use the back of a teaspoon to make drips along the edges of both tiers.
6. Fit a piping bag with a small star nozzle and fill with the remaining chocolate mixture. Pipe swirls over the top of the cake.
7. Chop some mini eggs and sprinkle them around the cake. Cut the other end of the Swiss roll and stick it to the base with some of the chocolate mixture. Attach the Colin face and buttons to the Swiss roll.
8. For the original surprise, I carved two small spaces and tucked mini Colins inside before decorating.
The result came from the 2022 £10 challenge. Current M&S products and prices may be completely different, so treat the list as inspiration rather than a shopping promise.
Lots of love,
Reshmi xoxo
Just came across your website…fabulous looking and no doubt tasting cakes and the Fake Cake section is genius! Thank you for your kind work practices, thoughts and ideas for all your followers. :)