Help can't cook and need to bake some funky professional looking cakes!!

desperatemumof6

ARRRRGHHHHHH!!:eek:

IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN GIVE ME SOME CAKE MAKING TIPS, I HAVE TRIED AND FAILED MANY MANY MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS, BUT I AM DESPERATE TO MAKE MY CHILDRENS BIRTHDAY CAKES AS THEY ASK EVERY YEAR!!

IF YOU HAVE ANY TIPS I WOULD BE SOOOOOO THANKFUL, I NEED SOMETHING THAT TASTES GOOD AND THAT I CAN DECORATE TO LOOK PROFESSIONAL (HOWEVER THAT IS LOL)

HOW I WISH I WAS A 1950'S HOUSEWIFE TO WHOM ALL THIS CRAFTY COOKY THINGS WOULD COME NATURALLY

THANKS

sethsgran

Can you bake at all? If so could you make cupcakes? Does it have to include actual baked cake or could you make a fridge cake? Hope we can all help you somehow

gibson123

You can buy a square sponge, cover it with butter icing and then stick chocolate fingers around it to make a fort cake. You can then enhance it with ready roll icing to make towers, flags etc. Buy cheap undecorated cupcakes in asda, make a big quantity of butter icing in different colours and use this in a large piping bag (th ones for piping potatoes) then decorate with edible glitter and little cupcake decorations (buy on e-bay).

You can make a caterpillar cake from swiss roll, covered in coloured ready rolled icing. Use icing pens to draw details.

You can do car cakes using madeira and battenburg and ready to roll icing and icing pens.

Good luck

Leelee81_2

Alot of cake decorators use pre-made sponge cake mixes (including myself), It keeps for a decent period of time and can have flavours etc added to it before baking, along with egg, oil & water to finish off the mix.

I buy my mix from a company in Nottingham called Sweet Success where I live, but they deliver or im sure you will have a cake decorating shop near you.

Look online for decoration ideas, its always a great place to start, depending on the ages doing the cake for can change what you can do....a great easy chocolate cake can be decorated with chocolate fingers (use the 3 varieties around), malteasers, I made one last year for my mum in law... x

pinkiebelle

I have made a Hansel and Gretel cake (requires no baking), You use 3 battenburg cakes (two for the base and one cut diagonal and used for a roof). decorate it using smarties for roof tiles, liquorice allsorts for windows and doors and also a chimney!! If you place on square cake board, can use desiccated coconut coloured green for grass and jelly babes for people, aswell as coconut mushrooms for trees!! children love it!!
To help stick items i have in the past used apricot jam?

desperatemumof6

Sorry for the late reply I just haven't had chance to pop back on! They sound like fab ideas thanks, I will be attempting the hansel and gretal one this week.
As for cooking I'm afraid any cakes I bake either don't rise or are raw in the middle and rock hard everywhere else lol no matter how many different ways I try, I've tried every paper going tins in all size and materials and on the odd occasion I manage to bake one properly it refuses to leave the tin....usually end up serving it as mush with custard!! Oops
Thanks guys

desperatemumof6

sethsgran wrote: »

Can you bake at all? If so could you make cupcakes? Does it have to include actual baked cake or could you make a fridge cake? Hope we can all help you somehow

I've never heard of a fridge cake, I will have to google it. Thank you

georgim

This recipie always works for me. I suggest you try it so easy!

4oz of margarine (I use stork) with 4oz caster sugar in a big bowl. Mash together with a fork until looking nice and creamy with no lumps.

Measure of 4oz self raising flour and put aside with a sieve.

Then crack two eggs together in a cup or whatever and whisk so they are mixed up. Add them in bit by bit to the butter and sugar mixture. (Ps you can use beaters for all this apart from the flour!)

If it starts too look like it curdling (too much egg) sieve in a bit of flour and fold in with a wooden spoon.

Once you have added in all the egg, sift in your flour and fold in, if u don't know How to fold in then I think there are loads of clips on you tube :-)

Once all your ingredients are in add in your vanilla essence or sift in cocoa powder.

If cooking as a cake put in oven at gas mark 6 for about 20-25 mins, you'll know if it is cooked if you out a fork in and it comes out clean!

If cooking fairy cakes do for about 12 mins.

Then wait to cool and ice!!!

Here is the original recipie from delia.

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/cakes/victoria-sponge-cake.html

popularfurball

betty crocker devil cake is impossible to do wrong and always comes out fantastic - i do it in two 8" tins and use choc spread as icing

indebtinsussex

I do cakes as a hobby, but sweetie cakes are so easy to do and look amazing, basically make a cake buttercream it, and shove as many sweets on that you can fit

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=300409473306732&set=pb.300336136647399.-2207520000.1350984957&type=1&theater

(this was the first cake I made for a friend and it really went down well)

SailorSam

I can never understand when people say "I can't do this or i can't do that"
All you need to do is look on the Internet, there's no end of help and even videos. With practise we can all do it.