The Vicar of Dibley Puddle Scene Chaos Cake

Quite possibly one of the most memorable scenes in TV history. My The Vicar of Dibley puddle scene chaos cake celebrates this iconic BBC comedy and one of the best scenes to have ever graced the small screens. Gather any chocolate you have hiding and let’s get chaotic.

Contents

All images are of a chocolate chaos cake decorated with "grass" buttercream and "mud" and a fondant character sitting in melted chocolate on the top of the cake. Props include red tartan pyjamas, a model village scene, a teacup with chocolates in it and sherry glasses with chocolates in them.

The Bake

I do love a good sitcom. Posts like my Gavin & Stacey quotes collection and my The Golden Girls inspired cheesecake recipe are just the tip of the iceberg. 

If I were to describe the concept of a sitcom, I would start with something along the lines of sitcoms being the TV equivalent of a comfort blanket. 

They’re the ideal form of entertainment when we need a boost. Short, sweet and often incredibly funny. 

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The Vicar of Dibley is the perfect example of the above description.

It’s quintessentially English, adorably wholesome and endlessly funny. One of the best things about this timeless comedy is how chaotic Geraldine – the Vicar herself – can be.

Which is exactly what this recipe is inspired by! Chaos cakes are growing in popularity and it makes complete sense to create one in honour of The Vicar of Dibley.

Not just the show, but one of the most iconic scenes in it: the puddle scene. Geraldine jumps into a puddle thinking it’s shallow, but ends up sinking completely in it and pops up covered in muddy water.

ICONIC.

This recipe is for a simple six inch chocolate cake.

Geraldine hides chocolate in hilarious places. She’s clearly a fan of the sweet treat, so it’s an apt choice for this The Vicar of Dibley puddle cake. 

No need to complicate it. 

I added melted chocolate in between the cake layers for this same reason. It’s so indulgent and SO delicious. Letting it pour over and mix with the buttercream gives it an element of chaos.

Geraldine is a basic fondant figure, surrounded by chocolate buttercream “grass” and “mud”. Nice and simple. 

Remember, this is a The Vicar of Dibley puddle CHAOS cake. It’s not meant to be neat or perfect. Just have fun with it!

Top Tips

  • Weigh your eggs in their shells and get as close to 300g as you can. Then weigh out the rest of your cake ingredients to that exact weight. My eggs weighed 274g, so that’s what the remainder of my ingredients weighed APART FROM the flour; aim for around 50g of cocoa powder in this ratio for a delicious chocolate flavour. My flour weighed 220g and my cocoa powder weighed 54g.
  • Avoid over mixing your cake mixture. Over mixing can lead to a dense texture!
  • I used Cadbury chocolate because it’s a British favourite and makes a regular occurrence in The Vicar of Dibley. However, you can absolutely use any chocolate that you enjoy.
  • To make this a bigger cake (8 inches), simply up the cake ingredients to 350g and bake in two 8 inch round cake tins for 25 – 30 minutes or until baked.
  • Make sure your 6 inch cake tins are deep as these are relatively thick cake layers.
  • I used white fondant icing for Geraldine’s face because I already had some in my cupboard, but honestly, pink would be better. She’s not a ghost, after all.
  • Chaos cakes are all about fun and not caring about neatness. Just have fun with it!

This The Vicar of Dibley puddle cake makes a brilliant birthday cake for any fan. Make it the centerpiece of your The Vicar of Dibley themed party if that’s the vibe! Fellow chocolate fans… trust me when I say this is a winner. Enjoy!

Happy baking, happy eating!

The YouTube Video

The Recipe

Ingredients

The Vicar of Dibley Puddle Cake:

  • 300g [10.5 oz] unsalted butter   room temperature
  • 300g [1½ cups] light brown sugar
  • 300g eggs (around 5 large eggs)
  • 250g [1½ cups + 1 tbsp] self-raising flour
  • 50g [¼ cup + 3 tbsp] cocoa powder

Decoration:

  • 200g [7 oz] unsalted butter   room temperature
  • 400g [2¾ cups] icing [confectioners] sugar
  • 2 tbsp melted chocolate
  • 150g [5.25 oz] chocolate  melted
  • Green food colouring   oil based
  • White or pink fondant icing or sugar paste
  • Black fondant icing or sugar paste
  • Black food paint or edible ink pen

Serves: 6 – 8

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 35 – 40 minutes

Decorating time: 30 minutes

Method

The Vicar of Dibley Puddle Cake Sponges:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C [350°F] or 160°C fan. Grease and line two 6 inch cake round cake tins. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
  3. Add in the eggs, beating in one at a time until fully incorporated.
  4. Sift in the flour. Add the cocoa powder and mix in until no flour is visible. Avoid over mixing here.
  5. Split the mixture evenly between the two tins and tap them a couple of times on the counter to pop and air bubbles hiding in the mixture.
  6. Bake on the middle shelf for 35 – 40 minutes (these are thick cake layers!). This will depend on how hot your oven runs and can take less or more time, so check after 35 minutes.
  7. Your cakes will be ready when a skewer or cocktail stick comes out with a few dry crumbs on (not wet mixture), the surface bounces back when gently pressed on, and you hear little crackling sounds when you listen to the cakes (if able).
  8. Once baked, leave to cool in the tins for around 10 or so minutes before transferring upside down to a wire rack.

Fondant figure:

  1. While your cake sponges are cooling, shape your fondant Geraldine figure.
  2. Simply roll the white fondant into a small ball and shape slightly to make the head. Then form the shoulders and upper body using the black fondant. Make a slight divot in the top of the fondant shoulders and press the head into the divot gently.
  3. Finish by shaping the hair onto the head. Lastly, draw on a cute screaming face using the food paint or edible ink pen. Set aside your fondant Geraldine.

Buttercream:

  1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter with half the icing sugar until light and creamy. Add a splash of milk and the other half of the icing sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and beat again until fully incorporated.
  2. Spoon around ⅓ of the buttercream into another bowl and beat in a few drops of green food colouring until an even colour is achieved. This will create your “grass”.

Decoration:

  1. When your cake sponges are fully cool, begin building your chaos cake!
  2. Place the first sponge on a plate/cake stand/cake board and spread a generous layer of chocolate buttercream over the top.
  3. Pipe a border of buttercream around the edge of the base layer, then pour most of the melted chocolate in the centre of the border. Using a knife, roughly mix the two together and allow the melted chocolate to pour over the edge of the sponge.
  4. Create a ditch in the other sponge by cutting or scooping out some of the cake. Don’t go further than halfway into the depth of the sponge.
  5. Place this sponge on top of your base one. Smother over some more chocolate buttercream to create the “mud”. Then, using a piping bag with a multi-hole piping tip, pipe on the green buttercream to create the “grass”.
  6. Pour the remaining melted chocolate in the ditch to create the puddle. Using your finger, scrape any leftover melted chocolate from the bowl and cover your Geraldine fondant figure in it. Then sit your Geraldine fondant figure in the chocolate puddle.

A The Vicar of Dibley puddle cake with a whole bunch of chaos thrown in. What could be better? This indulgent cake is best eaten on the day of baking, but will last for around 4+ days in an airtight container or cake case. The sponges can be baked ahead, cooled and frozen (individually wrapped) for up to 3 months. Enjoy!

The TV Series

Ready for the truth? Dawn French is a national treasure. FACT.

She helped revolutionise women in the comedy scene! Both as part of French & Saunders AND in her own right.

The Vicar of Dibley is what introduced me to Dawn French (French & Saunders is before my time) and I’ve loved it since.

Simply put, The Vicar of Dibley is about a female vicar (Dawn French) who moves to a small (fictional) village in England to serve in the quaint and rather conservative church. 

Geraldine Granger – the vicar – is unlike any minister the village has seen before.

She is brass, bold, sassy and witty. With a confident and more casual, modern approach to her work, Geraldine shakes up the entire village for the better.

Her trusty verger and hilariously obtuse friend, Alice, was played by the inimitable Emma Chambers. A scene stealer if we’ve ever seen one.

Alongside French and Chambers as series regulars were British acting royalty such as James Fleet; Roger Lloyd Pack, Trevor Peacock, Gary Waldhorn and John Bluthal.

Plus, Richard Armitage (pre-Thorin Oakenshield); Keeley Hawes, Peter Capaldi, Simon McBurney, Nina Wadia, Clive Mantle, Emma Watson, Ruth Jones, Jennifer Saunders (yes, that Saunders), Damian Lewis, Richard Ayoade and more.

Not long after the show started, some big names from across the entertainment industry made cameos.

Darcey Bussell, Terry Wogan, Kylie Minogue, Sting, Sean Bean and more.

The vicar made an impression on more than just Dibley!

The show was written by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Notting Hill etc.) and ran from 1994 to 2007, with specials released sporadically through the following years until 2020.

The Vicar of Dibley is a comfort TV series. It’s brilliantly funny and utterly heartwarming. One of my favourite shows to put on with a cuppa and some of my favourite choccies. A slice of my The Vicar of Dibley puddle cake is a chaotic treat to enjoy with it, too.

Recipe Card

The Vicar of Dibley Puddle Chaos Cake

Laura – Flavour of the Film
Deliciously indulgent chocolate chaos cake inspired by iconic The Vicar of Dibley puddle scene.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Decorating time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, British
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

The Vicar of Dibley Puddle Cake:

  • 300 g unsalted butter room temperature
  • 300 g light brown sugar
  • 300 g eggs around 5 large eggs
  • 250 g self-raising flour
  • 50 g cocoa powder

Decoration:

  • 200 g unsalted butter room temperature
  • 400 g icing [confectioners] sugar
  • 2 tbsp melted chocolate
  • 150 g chocolate melted
  • Green food colouring oil based
  • White or pink fondant icing or sugar paste
  • Black fondant icing or sugar paste
  • Black food paint or edible ink pen

Instructions
 

The Vicar of Dibley Puddle Cake Sponges:

  • Preheat your oven to 180°C [350°F] or 160°C fan. Grease and line two 6 inch cake round cake tins. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
  • Add in the eggs, beating in one at a time until fully incorporated.
  • Sift in the flour. Add the cocoa powder and mix in until no flour is visible. Avoid over mixing here.
  • Split the mixture evenly between the two tins and tap them a couple of times on the counter to pop and air bubbles hiding in the mixture.
  • Bake on the middle shelf for 35 – 40 minutes (these are thick cake layers!). This will depend on how hot your oven runs and can take less or more time, so check after 35 minutes.
  • Your cakes will be ready when a skewer or cocktail stick comes out with a few dry crumbs on (not wet mixture), the surface bounces back when gently pressed on, and you hear little crackling sounds when you listen to the cakes (if able).
  • Once baked, leave to cool in the tins for around 10 or so minutes before transferring upside down to a wire rack.

Fondant figure:

  • While your cake sponges are cooling, shape your fondant Geraldine figure.
  • Simply roll the white fondant into a small ball and shape slightly to make the head. Then form the shoulders and upper body using the black fondant. Make a slight divot in the top of the fondant shoulders and press the head into the divot gently.
  • Finish by shaping the hair onto the head. Lastly, draw on a cute screaming face using the food paint or edible ink pen. Set aside your fondant Geraldine.

Buttercream:

  • In a large bowl, beat together the butter with half the icing sugar until light and creamy. Add a splash of milk and the other half of the icing sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and beat again until fully incorporated.
  • Spoon around ⅓ of the buttercream into another bowl and beat in a few drops of green food colouring until an even colour is achieved. This will create your “grass”.

Decoration:

  • When your cake sponges are fully cool, begin building your chaos cake!
  • Place the first sponge on a plate/cake stand/cake board and spread a generous layer of chocolate buttercream over the top.
  • Pipe a border of buttercream around the edge of the base layer, then pour most of the melted chocolate in the centre of the border. Using a knife, roughly mix the two together and allow the melted chocolate to pour over the edge of the sponge.
  • Create a ditch in the other sponge by cutting or scooping out some of the cake. Don’t go further than halfway into the depth of the sponge.
  • Place this sponge on top of your base one. Smother over some more chocolate buttercream to create the “mud”. Then, using a piping bag with a multi-hole piping tip, pipe on the green buttercream to create the “grass”.
  • Pour the remaining melted chocolate in the ditch to create the puddle. Using your finger, scrape any leftover melted chocolate from the bowl and cover your Geraldine fondant figure in it. Then sit your Geraldine fondant figure in the chocolate puddle.

Notes

A The Vicar of Dibley puddle cake with a whole bunch of chaos thrown in. What could be better? This indulgent cake is best eaten on the day of baking, but will last for around 4+ days in an airtight container or cake case. The sponges can be baked ahead, cooled and frozen (individually wrapped) for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
Keyword chaos cake, chocolate cake, the vicar of dibley, vicar of dibley puddle scene

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