Baking a cake

sugaJen

Havent looked yet but im sure theres lots of recipes in the collections/indexed threads but does anyone have a recommendation, its my sons birthday on thursday, in the past ive bought the cake which normally sets me back £8-10 because it has some character on it :mad:

Surely I can make one cheaper? Also if I made it monday/tuesday how long would it keep?

TIA

Jen

ps Im not a "great" cook YET so something simple-ish, that doesnt cost alot in case I have to throw it out and start again :rotfl:

Pink.

Hi sugaJen,

This is the one I made for my son's birthday in April. I just covered it in marshmallows and smarties and he loved it. If you make it on Monday or Tuesday and store it in a tin it will be fine for Thursday.

Easy Chocolate Cake

6 oz self raising flour
1 and a half level teaspoons of baking powder

- sift into a bowl

6 oz soft margarine or butter
6 oz castor sugar
2 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 teasp vanilla essence
3 tablespoons of warm water

- mix to blend and beat well before adding to flour mix (above)

Divide the mix between two greased 7 - 8'' tins. Bake at 180 degrees for 20- 25 minutes.


Chocolate Fudge Icing


6 oz icing sugar
2 oz cocoa powder

-sift into a bowl


3 oz butter
4 oz castor sugar
4 tablespoons of water

- disolve in a pan and bring just to the boil before adding to the icing sugar and cocoa powder mixture. Stir well to remove any lumps, then pour half onto each sponge cake.

You need to work quickly with this bit as the icing will begin to set if you don't.

Put the nicest looking one on top and add loads of flake pieces or whatever decoration you like.

Pink

mrbadexample

This one's dead easy. Shouldn't be a problem to ice / decorate, and needs 3 days or so in foil to improve, so should fit your timescale nicely.

madmum33

Mr BE, I wanted to see your suggestion but the link brought me straight back to this thread

Spooky_Pooky

Easiest cake recipe ever:

Put the following in a large bowl:

6oz SR flour (tesco value is fine - though I always double sift from a good height)
1.5tsp baking powder
6oz caster sugar (worth sifting in case of lumps)
(2tbsp cocoa powder - optional)
6oz marge (I use stork, or you could use butter)
3 eggs

whisk until completely smooth then for another thirty seconds.

Pour into two lined 7inch cake tins or similar (this will work in most size tins to be honest it's fail proof I think!)

(n.b. this quanitiy of mix will also make approx 24 cupcakes instead if you like..)

Cook on GM4 for approx 25 mins until it's springy to the touch - DO NOT open the oven until at least 20 mins have passed.

For filling / topping very easiest is cheat's buttercream.... Put about as much butter / marge in a bowl as you think you'll need to fill and cover the cake, microwave for about 30 secs then using a wooden spoon beat in either icing powder or mixture of icing powder and cocoa (I often do a one for the middle and the other for the top to make it pretty). Just keep adding it until you've managed to beat it to a nice consistency that you can't help dipping your finger in and munching on... I find this a pretty good indicator you're getting there! If you're finding the beating hard work at any point just bung it back in the microwave for a few seconds. (n.b. this will prob take more icing sugar than you think, make sure you have plenty to hand)

Don't spread the buttercream until the cake is completely cool.

Kept in a tin / tupperware ideally in a cool place, this cake should be find for 3 or 4 days though is most srcumptious on the day you bake it.

I hope this helps! If you want anything more complicated please say, I'm a very keen cake chef! xxx

spendaholic

madmum33 wrote: »

Mr BE, I wanted to see your suggestion but the link brought me straight back to this thread

Ha, ha. I tried to look too and it did the same for me. Looks like his links are as good as his cookery. (Although I understand the latter has improved considerably ...)

Pink.

spendaholic wrote: »

Ha, ha. I tried to look too and it did the same for me. Looks like his links are as good as his cookery. (Although I understand the latter has improved considerably ...)

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I think that this may be what Mr badexample meant to link to:

Chocolate yoghurt cake - the sequel

Pink

mrbadexample

Pink-winged wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I think that this may be what Mr badexample meant to link to:

Chocolate yoghurt cake - the sequel

Pink

Errrmm, yeah, that's the one I meant. :whistle:

Thanks for looking after me, Pink. :rotfl:

madmum33

Yum, sounds delicious!!!!! Thanks Pink/Mrbadexample!

Pink.

mrbadexample wrote: »

Thanks for looking after me, Pink. :rotfl:

Ahhh, you don't take much looking after!

Pink

sugaJen

Wow thanks alot

Looks like im making more than 1 cake, dont worry they wont go to waste

Jen