Homemade Cakes thread

flea72

julie03 wrote: »

has anyone got a tried and tested moist vanilla sponge cake recipe, need to be able to shape it and needs to have a fairly good life on it approx days, will be covering in fondant icing but buttercream in the middle
thanks
julie

if you need to shape the cake, then you really need a maderia cake as that is less crumbly - the only downside is its a drier texture than a normal sponge

most cakes keep for a good week, if stored in an airtight container.

as for recipe - similar to a normal sponge, but rather than doing 1 egg to 2oz of sugar/butter/flour, you do one egg to 2oz of sug/butter and 3oz flour, but you might need a splash of milk, as it can be quite stiff - cook at about 160c til done

maderia cuts better if left a couple of days. so once cool, wrap in foil and store until you are ready

F

becs

I had an almight muck up tonight! Made a coffee and walnut cake and put the mixture into sandwich tins. Thought it looked a little on the slim side but wasn't until I took them out the oven I'd used the wrong size tins! Talk about flat, they were about 1cm tall! Was on the verge of throwing in the bin and thought I'd try to salvage them by making them into individual cakes. I'm so chuffed with them!

awesome2_2

flea72 wrote: »

what cake covering are you planning on using?

if ready roll icing, then i would do a filling on both pitch and ball. if using buttercream, then i wouldnt bother filling either (or maybe just the ball)

usually when i make football pitch, i make a slab cake, and use buttercream to cover it (dont bother with filling). colour dessicated coconut green, and sprinkle all over for grass. if making a football, i use a pyrex bowl, but dont make it very deep. i find half a ball doesnt look right, as it stands too proud, about 1/3 - 1/4 of the depth gives a more realistic look. i also prefer the old style stitched footballs too, so rather than going for hexagons, i do blockwork (easier to re-create too) - although younger children might not recognise it as a football

F

Hi Flea
Thanks for the advise how did you make yours reound at the top been lookng at pyrex bowls and the seem to be flat at the top probably to stop them rolling out of the oven:rotfl:Going to cover it in royla icing the black and white segments as my son is to young to remember the stitched ball.
Thanks

flea72

awesome2 wrote: »

Hi Flea
Thanks for the advise how did you make yours reound at the top been lookng at pyrex bowls and the seem to be flat at the top probably to stop them rolling out of the oven:rotfl:Going to cover it in royla icing the black and white segments as my son is to young to remember the stitched ball.
Thanks

although the bottom of the bowl is flat, in mine the actual inside of the bowl is still slightly domed, so just adding slightly thicker icing in that area, is enough to give the round affect. i tend to use buttercream to cover footballs tho, as geometry isnt my strong point

F

awesome2_2

flea72 wrote: »

although the bottom of the bowl is flat, in mine the actual inside of the bowl is still slightly domed, so just adding slightly thicker icing in that area, is enough to give the round affect. i tend to use buttercream to cover footballs tho, as geometry isnt my strong point

F

Thanks Flea think I will have to keep lookin for a rounder bowl:D

wammy77

nikki2804 wrote: »

Wow, i've read a fair few pages of this thread and i'm in total awe! The cakes are amazing!!

I'm so inspired that i've decided to try and make my OH's birthday cake, its in 8 days =S (after seeing the lovely ones here the supermarket ones seem boring!!)

I was thinking a cake that looks like a parcel? With a fancy ribbon make from the chocolate playdough mixture? Also, I want to make rocky road cupcakes.

My question is though, what would be the best cake recipe for the main cake? I quite fancy a choccy one, would the chocolate cola recipe work? And lastly, how would I make the chocolate covering? Can you get chocolate royal icing?

TIA

Nikki - Regalice (sold almost everywhere - hobbycraft, online, local garden centre!) sell the roll out icing in chocolate flavour.... go onto the hobbycraft website and search 'regalice' to get an idea of colour.

Rocky road cupcakes - do you mean in the cake itself for the topping? You could add small amount of mini mallows and cherries to a chocolate sponge mix for the cakes. Top with swirly piped buttercream (choc!) which you can decorate with mini mallows, cherries, nuts etc.

I did grown up cupcakes for a friends birthday and I topped them with white buttercream swirls 3 mini mallows on one side half an oreo cookie at an angle and a giant chocolate curl Looked better than it sounds!!!

ladypike

I just had a quick question for all you bakers on here.....

Does anyone own a cupcake courier (can be found on amazon for £40)
it says its hold 36 cupcakes and I was just wondering is that 36 decorated cupcakes?? as I use buttercream to cover my whole cupcake and this makes them quite large. I would really like one but there would be no point if they are all squeezed in as my icing would get ruined.

Any feedback wold be greatly appreciated

ladypike x

wammy77

LADYPIKE wrote: »

I just had a quick question for all you bakers on here.....

Does anyone own a cupcake courier (can be found on amazon for £40)
it says its hold 36 cupcakes and I was just wondering is that 36 decorated cupcakes?? as I use buttercream to cover my whole cupcake and this makes them quite large. I would really like one but there would be no point if they are all squeezed in as my icing would get ruined.

Any feedback wold be greatly appreciated

ladypike x

It's decorated cakes - the trays hold 12 muffins with a base size of approx 55mm

code-a-holic

Im making a 3 tier cake for my friends 30th birthday party on Saturday. It's my hardest one yet - mainly because its simple - and simple means straighter edges and icing without imperfections! The top tier will have 3 large sugarpaste flowers on it and then petals falling down the tiers. I have made them and for my first time they look pretty good, i think! it has a 10", 8" and 6". Trying to work out if this will feed 50. 30,20, 10. the cake is after a buffet so dont need huge slices and each tier will have 2 layers and filling.Reassure me that it big enough to feed 50!

flea72

code-a-holic wrote: »

Im making a 3 tier cake for my friends 30th birthday party on Saturday. It's my hardest one yet - mainly because its simple - and simple means straighter edges and icing without imperfections! The top tier will have 3 large sugarpaste flowers on it and then petals falling down the tiers. I have made them and for my first time they look pretty good, i think! it has a 10", 8" and 6". Trying to work out if this will feed 50. 30,20, 10. the cake is after a buffet so dont need huge slices and each tier will have 2 layers and filling.Reassure me that it big enough to feed 50!

ok, if doing slices you normally get 20 from a double layer 10" cake - 16 from an 8" cake and 12 from a 6" cake - so this should feed about 50 people

however you dont normally serve tiered cakes in slices, its usually cut into 1" or 2" squares, so people can eat it easily without the need for forks, which also means it goes alot further too

hth F