How to make Birthday (and other celebration) Cakes!

Nimeth

I'm after some tips and advice if anyone has any! My OH and my FiL both have Christmas day birthdays, so I'm making them each a cake this year. They love cars, so I want to make a VW Beetle cake and a VW campervan cake.

I'm thinking 4 square sponge cakes each would be enough to build them. Can I use a normal sponge recipe for this or do I need something more dense? Also what's best to stick them together and to stick the icing to it?

I also need suggestions for wheels and windows if anyone has any.

TIA.:)

Rikki

Swiss roll will be ideal for the wheels.

lisa26_2

Normal sponge is really too light and crumbly for carving. I'd normally use a genoese or madeira sponge for a shaped cake. You could use liqourice catherine wheels for the wheels, not sure about windows though!

flea72

if you use a loaf tin for the campervan, then you wont need to shape it much, so a standard cake mix will be ok

but for the beetle as you will need to shape it alot, then as already suggested you need a maderia cake

oreos work well for wheels

if you want alot of detail, then use plain white fondant icing, and paint your designs on - its alot easier than trying to cut out various shapes of different coloured icing. wing mirrors, bumpers, number plates, etc. can be made from fondant icing and left to harden for a couple of days

F

becs

I would use an hd sponge recipe. If you google hd or high density sponge recipe it should bring up a recipe. I used it for my mum's birthday cake a few years ago as it's a lot firmer for stacking and carving. Sorry I can't find the recipe i used but i got it from google somewhere.
For the wheels could use the licorice wheels then the sweet in the centre looks like a hub cap and the black licorice just like a tyre.

mildred1978

For the beetle cake make round cakes, cut in half and sandwich together so that the cut edge can sit on the board. Gives you your rounded shape before you start cutting

I have to say, I've made many many shaped cakes, and I'm not sure even I'd attempt these 2!

zippychick

ive merged this with our celebration cakes thread

Zip

BaileyB

Hi everyone,

Going to be making a birthday cake soon and it's going to be in a deep square tin. Also 2 tiers 10" and 6 or 7"

Just wondering if the basic 4/4/4/2 will do for this all will something a little firmer might be better?

any advice would be great

lisa26_2

I'd recommend going for either a madeira or genoese sponge as it'll be slightly firmer so will work better in tiers and will also slice better. Plus they keep better than a basic sponge.

rachbc

yep - a maderia be best - add half as much extra plain flour than SR - so 4 fat 4 sugar 4 SR 2 plain and 2 eggs. Make a day or 2 ahead fo schedule as it actually improved for a bit of keeping - wrapped well in foil in a tin