Cake decorating tips needed! SOS!

angelpye

Hi I have a dilemma and the only people I could think of who may be able to help are you guys!

My neice and nephew are having a birthday party this weekend, joint but they want seperate birthday cakes and I have been nominated to make them! Arggghhh! Now, I am confident that I make good tasting cake - I love cake therefore they always seem to come out tasting fine. My problem is they are always boring or plain ugly!

Now, these cakes I am going to make are both going to be chocolate fudge cakes - I made it for Easter last year and both kids loved it. Thing is it is not very pretty to look at! Panic! Its iced with hot cocoa and icing sugar icing that is poured over the hot cake (keeps it nice and moist - yum!) and seals the cake. It's just that its boring and as my sister is from an area where the mums seem to love the latest Ben Ten or Barbie colour laden cakes I am worried the kids will be embarassed or my sister let down!

Now, I don't want anything too fancy - i love old style and the kids are 6 (boy) and 7 (girl) years old. I don't know how to make normal piping icing (the shame of it!) and I have never tried to decorate old style before. Any suggestions, directions to websites, tips or ideas appreciated! I was thinking of just somehow poncing it up a bit with some extra icing and writing their name with maybe white chocolate icing (if someone out there can give me a recipe?!) Oh, and BTW I only have tomorrow night to bake and some time on Saturday to decorate both cakes! Oh dear!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I know someone out there can save me!:T:T:T

Pink.

Hi angelpye,

I have used this website before for inspiration when making birthday cakes:

www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com

The cakes are made and the pictures submitted by people of different baking abilities and if you click on the links they often give step by step instructions on how they achieved the end result. If you click on the link there are several different categories which contain pics and instructions.

I hope your neice and nephew will enjoy whatever you make and I'm certain you won't let them down!

Pink

Looby_Lou

Could you decorate the cake with lots more chocolate? You could put buttons (both plain and white), maltesers, smarties, chocolate curls etc on top of the chocolate icing. It won't take long to do and with 6 year old boys the quantity of chocolate is more important than how pretty it looks!

zippychick

The last time I was in tesco, they had barbie decorations in the bread/baking section. just for your info! Was a very big tesco. Good luck, I am sure they will be gorgeous and appreciated!!!

I made my friend birthday fairy cakes, and wrote a message on them in cut out chocolate buttons. You could always buy match makers etc and spell their names out? Just an idea

Pooky

I saw a fab idea recently that I'll be making for my DD's birthday next week.

Basically, melt choccy and paint layers around a greased plastic bowl until you get a chocolate dome, leave to set and then place over your cake...hide some sweeties inside it, stick some buttons and smarties all over the outside and let them have the fun of breaking through the choccy shell to find the cake.

HTH

Link here - http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=784280

jellycattwo

I made my nephew (7) a wwf cake last week, plain quare cake with white all over icing. I then snapped 2 bbq kebab sticks in half (one for each post) used blue and red ribbon for the ropes. the bought 2 wwf figures, which were part of his gift and planted in opp corners. He loved it.

floyd

What about something like this with choccy fingers round the edge and each childs favourite chocs piled up in the middle? Can personalise with different ribbon for each as well

floyd

Oops just read back, pretty similar idea to Louby Lou

doraexplorer

floyd, thats such a good idea, love the pic. i will have to remember that one.

d x

Pooky

Ohhhh floyd, I love that one, think I might had to do that for my own birthday!

katiecoodle

I have some advice from a professional cake maker. If it all goes wrong, just stick a load of smarties onto buttercream icing. It will look great I guarantee it. Or white & milk choc buttons would look good too.