Duck cake

Trim and fold parchment into a round for a 10-inch cake pan and adhere it with nonstick spray.

Beat the butter, sugar, baking powder and salt with the paddle three to four minutes on medium until fluffy and one or two shades paler; scrape the bowl.

Add eight room temperature eggs one at a time, each fully incorporated before the next.

Whisk the buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla paste together, then add the flour and the liquid alternately, about a quarter of the flour then a third of the liquid, scraping occasionally, until everything is evenly combined.

Fill the lubricated half-sphere pans three quarters full; spray the baking nails and press the flat heads into the centre of the cakes so thick cakes bake evenly and do not collapse.

Bake the 10-inch cakes at 350F for 37 to 42 minutes and the half spheres at 325F for 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool completely, invert onto parchment on a wire rack, remove the pans and pull out the nails, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate until needed.

Heat 50 grams coconut oil with three popcorn kernels in a stock pot over medium-high until they pop.

Off the heat add 60 grams of kernels, cover and toss 30 seconds, then return to medium-high covered and keep it moving two to three minutes until popping slows to one or two seconds between pops; dump into a bowl.

In a saucepan bring the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup to a rolling simmer, whisking occasionally, until it reaches 240F.

Whisk in half a teaspoon each of kosher salt and vanilla extract and an eighth teaspoon of baking soda, pour over the popcorn and stir to coat.

Spread flat on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and bake at 250F for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 20 minutes; cool completely before breaking up.

Cook the whole milk, flour and sugar in a saucepan over medium three to four minutes, whisking constantly or it goes lumpy and cannot be saved, until it is a thick smooth paste.

Pour onto a plastic lined rimmed baking sheet and leave at room temperature until the bottom of the pan is no longer warm.

Beat 675 grams of room temperature butter on medium two to three minutes until light and fluffy, then add the paste a spoonful at a time, scraping twice through the process.

Switch to the wire whip and whip to a light, whipped cream-like frosting; add a pinch of salt and the food coloring, and half of it can go into a piping bag.

Stack the two 10-inch cakes and trim them into a teardrop shape with a tapered tip.

Break the trimmings into crumbs, add a big dollop of frosting and mix into a moldable modeling cake.

Smear frosting on the turntable, frost the first layer generously, sandwich the second on, then cover the whole thing in a thin layer of frosting and shape a tail from the modeling cake, frosting it seamless; fridge 15 minutes.

Trim the half spheres flat on top, frost one side and sandwich them into a cake burger.

Mound frosting toward the front of the cake as a neck, flatten the centre, set the head on it and press a boba straw down through the centre to marry it to the bottom; snip off the excess.

Put down a thin crumb coat so crumbs stay out of the final layer, fridge 15 minutes, then pipe on a thick even layer.

Smooth with an offset spatula and then an icing scraper.

Eyes from two black licorice strings formed into ovals, pupils from two orange M&Ms, bill from two wavy potato chips, hair from caramel corn, three red M&M buttons and a bow tie made from a fruit by the foot.

Serving note: crumble potato chips and caramel corn over a slice for a sweet, salty and savory upgrade.