Peter Rabbit Christening Cake Help for Rachel from Facebook (1 Viewer)

[FB Questions]

Rachel P
Hi thank you for replying, aww I'm looking for a peter rabbit cake or figures but I can't find anyone to do it for my sons christening I seen your cakes & fell in love, there are amazing! Xxx


Help Me Bake
You're most welcome, Rachel where are you based? I'm just trying to think if I know of anywhere you can go. Aww thank you for your comments that's very kind. x

Rachel P
Aww thank you sooo much, that would be a great help, my mum said she will make the cake and we will decorate it ourselves, but that would be great if you could tell us how to leave it ect.. I'll send you a picture of the cake I would like, I live Manchester, thank you xx

Help Me Bake
If you could rustle up a plain cake like a madeira (check out www.helpmebake.com for cake recipes in the recipe and guides section) or buy one from a supermarket (although I'm not a fan of these) you can actually buy Peter Rabbit figures or an edible topper from ebay and put the cake together yourself if you fancy having a go. I could give you pointers on how to level fill and cover it if you fancied doing it yourself and needed some extra help. Just a thought.

 

[Angie]

Hi Rachel

First things first.

1. If you are going to make a cake that will have edible figures or models on the top then you will need to use a dense cake to support the weight so as I suggested a Madeira cake would be a good choice. The recipe I have in the recipes and guides section will only make you a small 8 inch so you may want to double up on the mixture.

2. When baking the cake in the oven you can surround the tin with baking paper in order to give the cake an even rise. As illustrated in my pic.

3. I'm assuming you are going to use a square or rectangular tin to make the cake, in the event your mum doesn't have the size you need then some cake shops actually rent big tins out to save the expense of buying one.

4. Once the cake is made I usually let them rest for 24hrs before decorating to let them settle as they can be very crumbly when they have been baked fresh. Madeira cake will stay fresh for at least a week. What I tend to do is wrap it in baking paper and clingfilm and then level, fill and cover the following day.

5. In order to have a level cake I cut mine using a cake leveller, they are a great tool to have. They look like a big wire or knife that's attached to a metal stand. I find the wire ones much easier to use. It looks like a big cheese slicer. They cost about £5.00 from a cake shop but give you a fabulous level finish. They have markers up the side that allow you to work out how much excess cake you need to take off the cake. All you need to do is take off the peaked parts of the cake to make it level. I place one hand on top of the cake to steady it whilst I use the cake leveller in a side to side motion to take of any excess of the top of the cake. Once it looks level I flip the cake over as the bottom of the cake them becomes the top as it has a smoother finish to it.

6. If you are wishing to fill the cake with jam or buttercream then you will need to slice the cake in half again using the cake leveller. Ensure that when you take the top slice off you do not move the cake round in any direction as the cake should be placed back on top in exactly the position it was removed. You may find there is a line in the cake that has imprinted from your tin use this as a guide as this will ensure the cake is lined back up correctly.

7. When filling the cake only use a moderate amount of jam or buttercream, if using both place jam on say the top half and then buttercream on the bottom half and then place them back on top of each other. If you put jam and buttercream on one half of the cake they may smear and mix into each other. I say use a moderate amount as if you add too much filling you get a sliding effect when you are trying to cover the cake.

8. Once filled cover the remainder of the cake with your filling if you have just used jam to fill use jam to cover if you have used both then cover using buttercream. If using buttercream place it in the fridge to set and make sure it is smooth. You only need a light coating of either jam or buttercream as it's just a coating/adhesive for the cake to stick to the marzipan/icing. If you have used buttercream and placed in the fridge you can either apply another coat to the cake or lightly spray with water before sticking your marzipan or icing to it. If you have covered in jam you can stick the mazipan or icing straight to it. If you are using jam I cover with marzipan first as I use strawberry jam and if you cover this directly with icing then you will be able to see the jam straight through it. An alternative to prevent this from happening is use apricot jam as it's lighter in colour.

9. When you are rolling out your icing or marzipan make sure you do it on a lightly dusted surface by sprinkling icing sugar on your side. (You can use cornflour on white icing or pastel colours but DO NOT use this for marzipan as it reacts with it and causes a sticky mess). Always rotate the icing after every couple of rolls with the rolling pin to prevent it sticking to the surface. Don't use too much icing sugar as this can dry the icing out. Another rule is to wrap up any unused icing with clingfilm and store in a cool dry place. It will last until the expiry date on the pack.

10. Before placing on the cake lift the icing up off the side using you rolling pin, place the rolling pin on the edge of your rolled out icing say at the top, pick the top edge of the icing up with your fingers and raise it slightly towards you, the rolling pin should start to roll towards you as you lift the icing. Once the icing is resting on the rolling pin pick up both ends of the pin, the icing now looks like a saddle on the rolling pin. When placing on the cake let the bottom edge hang about an inch from the edge of the cake then get the rolling pin near the edge of you cake and roll the icing/marzipan over it. (If you are doing both marzipan and icing then cover with marzipan first and then do the same again using icing, if you do it quick enough you will not need any water to stick the icing to the marzipan as it will be slightly tacky however if you do it in stages then lightly spray the marzipan with water or lightly cover in vodka using a pastry brush before covering in icing as this will ensure it will stick). If you do not like marzipan or you are not happy with your cake covering you can always double ice your cake instead using the same method as above. I use marzipan as this gives it a lovely finish and marzipan is great for filling in any holes or imperfections.

11. In order to cover....
For a square cake, lightly, rub the tips of your fingers around all the cake including the edges go round in stages and rub softly using your fingertips and work your way round and down the cake in stages.This will help you get a smooth finish on the cake.

For a round cake I lift the icing with one hand and push down with the other using the base of my hand this allows me to make sure the icing is covering the cake but is smooth and not bunched together.

With corners lift slightly with one hand as if you were pulling the bottom of a dress outward, this allows you to place the icing where it needs to be you lift and smooth with your fingers by moving them in a side to side motion, do this around the cake this should give you a smooth finish. You can also go over the cake with a cake smoother.

12. Once the cake is covered cut of any excess using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. If you have any imperfections these can be covered with decorations.

Hope this helps and very good luck to you.