So here is my very first attempt at any kind of cake, baked last week... certainly an adventure. Seemed to be received ok cake loving wife...
Very First Cake... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter clerahi
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clerahi
Active Member
Thanks Angie lol...
The Easter Chick Cupcake Toppers sound good, the more practice I get the better.
There's a long list of answers to what I want to bake next... Right now my focus is what I need to learn for our granddaughter's birthday cake, so any help, advice or recipe ideas you have would be much appreciated. She's asked her dad (our son) for a Rainbow Unicorn cake, chocolate obviously. Oh with Maltesers
! I have until the end of May, our other son's birthday is before then, so he can be a guinea pig for a finished cake of some kind .
Yesterday I had a go at making a layered chocolate cake as a trial. I only had enough ingredients for half the buttercream, which I used for the layer. It turned out reasonably ok, although I realised the oven was on 160deg C fan instead of 140..
. That might explain the cracking as it cooled (see photo)? What do you think (difficult with only a photo I know)?
The Easter Chick Cupcake Toppers sound good, the more practice I get the better.
There's a long list of answers to what I want to bake next... Right now my focus is what I need to learn for our granddaughter's birthday cake, so any help, advice or recipe ideas you have would be much appreciated. She's asked her dad (our son) for a Rainbow Unicorn cake, chocolate obviously. Oh with Maltesers
! I have until the end of May, our other son's birthday is before then, so he can be a guinea pig for a finished cake of some kind .Yesterday I had a go at making a layered chocolate cake as a trial. I only had enough ingredients for half the buttercream, which I used for the layer. It turned out reasonably ok, although I realised the oven was on 160deg C fan instead of 140..
. That might explain the cracking as it cooled (see photo)? What do you think (difficult with only a photo I know)?
Lol! The toppers will be great fun and give you an idea of how to work with icing.
That looks nice, the buttercream looks good, and the cake looks moist even though you had temperature issues.
The thing with cake is that you can always cover cracking so that wouldn't be a problem. If it's burned or dried out, you have a problem.
I like the fact that you're planning ahead and doing a test run; you'd be surprised how many people don't.
Maltesers are the easy part; crush them up and then sprinkle them in the buttercream centre, so that's that bit taken care of.
As for the cake, I would need to see a picture of precisely what you're looking to do to advise you best; some of the unicorn cakes are covered in buttercream with a unicorn horn and piping on the top, some are rainbow coloured inside, some are covered in icing and have a rainbow and unicorn on the front or down the sides. So with so many to choose from, I could be advising you for hours.
What size are the cakes you've just made? They look about 8/9 inches on the top pic but then on the close-up, they look to be about 7 inches. So I can't gauge it.
If you're doing the buttercream and horn version, you're going to need some more height to the cake and may possibly need three layers of cake to get the height, but if you were looking to do that, you would need about a 6-inch cake to make it look in proportion.
The bigger the cake, the more problems you can have with it, so it may be worth making your granddaughter a smaller version to start with. Start smaller, then work up to bigger cakes.
Anyway, have a nosey on the internet, see what you like on the unicorn front and then post a pic that way; I can physically see what you want to make and advise you accordingly.
That looks nice, the buttercream looks good, and the cake looks moist even though you had temperature issues.
The thing with cake is that you can always cover cracking so that wouldn't be a problem. If it's burned or dried out, you have a problem.I like the fact that you're planning ahead and doing a test run; you'd be surprised how many people don't.
Maltesers are the easy part; crush them up and then sprinkle them in the buttercream centre, so that's that bit taken care of.
As for the cake, I would need to see a picture of precisely what you're looking to do to advise you best; some of the unicorn cakes are covered in buttercream with a unicorn horn and piping on the top, some are rainbow coloured inside, some are covered in icing and have a rainbow and unicorn on the front or down the sides. So with so many to choose from, I could be advising you for hours.
What size are the cakes you've just made? They look about 8/9 inches on the top pic but then on the close-up, they look to be about 7 inches. So I can't gauge it.
If you're doing the buttercream and horn version, you're going to need some more height to the cake and may possibly need three layers of cake to get the height, but if you were looking to do that, you would need about a 6-inch cake to make it look in proportion.
The bigger the cake, the more problems you can have with it, so it may be worth making your granddaughter a smaller version to start with. Start smaller, then work up to bigger cakes.
Anyway, have a nosey on the internet, see what you like on the unicorn front and then post a pic that way; I can physically see what you want to make and advise you accordingly.
clerahi
Active Member
Thanks Angie, I'll have a look round, I'll also ask our granddaughter what she'd like (I'll need to condition that though 
).
I like your suggestion of starting with a smaller cake. The cake tins I have are 20cm. I'm thinking of keeping this first one simple, say a layered chocolate covered in fondant
.
I'll get some ideas in the next couple of days.
Thanks for your help.
).I like your suggestion of starting with a smaller cake. The cake tins I have are 20cm. I'm thinking of keeping this first one simple, say a layered chocolate covered in fondant
.I'll get some ideas in the next couple of days.
Thanks for your help.
Haha! Yeah, it will be bigger than a house by the time she finishes with her wish list. Bless her. I used to get my daughter to draw a picture of what she wanted to help bring her ideas to life. However, having said that, that has come back to bite me a few times.
Your best bet will be a 6 or 8 inch, and yes, a single layer will be fine. I usually find a 6 inch is a nice size, and then I place it on an 8-inch cake board. I use a deep tin, though and then level fill and cover it. The reason being is that I get straight edges and no ridges when covering it. When you sandwich two together, you can sometimes be left with a ridge around the edge. Anyway, have a look around the net, get some ideas from your granddaughter and then we can look at some options for you.
I used to get my daughter to draw a picture of what she wanted to help bring her ideas to life. However, having said that, that has come back to bite me a few times. Your best bet will be a 6 or 8 inch, and yes, a single layer will be fine. I usually find a 6 inch is a nice size, and then I place it on an 8-inch cake board. I use a deep tin, though and then level fill and cover it. The reason being is that I get straight edges and no ridges when covering it. When you sandwich two together, you can sometimes be left with a ridge around the edge. Anyway, have a look around the net, get some ideas from your granddaughter and then we can look at some options for you.
clerahi
Active Member
I have these deep tins that I bought for dishes other than baking. One is 8 inches, the smaller one is 6 inches (just under 3 inches deep). I used the 6 inch one for making a chicken fajita stack, looks like its in for a new life with cakes. I haven't used them for a while, I was looking at deep tins online when I realised I've got two somewhere...
Lol! I forget the stuff I have sometimes.
You can tell by turning the tins over which size you will want to use. Or bake a test cake in each and see what you prefer. Just remember that it will be bigger when you add layers filling and either icing /marzipan or both. Chocolate buttercream can be a bit messy to work with depending on the icing/fondant you are using, so you may end up putting two layers of icing on it. When I made my frozen cake, the buttercream got in places on show, so to hide the smudges, I put on a second layer of icing fondant.
I use 6-inch by 3 inch deep tins when making a small single tiered, which are solid (no loose base). They are a nice size, and everyone seems to get a good slice.
Is the 8-inch loose-bottomed? I think from the looks of your picture; the 6-inch is solid. I prefer these as that way; all the cake mix stays where it's supposed to, and you get a perfect edge when you flip the cake over. (When you level fill and cover a deep cake, the bottom of the cake becomes the top because it's smoother and easier to cover, giving you a smooth edge when covering in icing/fondant). However, you do what suits you; what works for me may not work for you, so choose what suits you. When I level a cake, I always use a cake leveller too, so it comes out straight.
You can tell by turning the tins over which size you will want to use. Or bake a test cake in each and see what you prefer. Just remember that it will be bigger when you add layers filling and either icing /marzipan or both. Chocolate buttercream can be a bit messy to work with depending on the icing/fondant you are using, so you may end up putting two layers of icing on it. When I made my frozen cake, the buttercream got in places on show, so to hide the smudges, I put on a second layer of icing fondant.
I use 6-inch by 3 inch deep tins when making a small single tiered, which are solid (no loose base). They are a nice size, and everyone seems to get a good slice.
Is the 8-inch loose-bottomed? I think from the looks of your picture; the 6-inch is solid. I prefer these as that way; all the cake mix stays where it's supposed to, and you get a perfect edge when you flip the cake over. (When you level fill and cover a deep cake, the bottom of the cake becomes the top because it's smoother and easier to cover, giving you a smooth edge when covering in icing/fondant). However, you do what suits you; what works for me may not work for you, so choose what suits you. When I level a cake, I always use a cake leveller too, so it comes out straight.
clerahi
Active Member
They are both loose-bottomed, I'll see how I get on with the 6-inch one as is. I can always buy a solid one.
Yeah, try it; you might find it's okay, I have used them before, but I did it for some Christmas fruit cakes, not a sponge. You'll find your own preference, so do what works for you.
However, if you do look to buy one, the PME Anodised ones are fabulous; they're not that expensive, and the cake has no lines on it whatsoever when it slides out of the tin. I started to replace my old solid tins because they were getting worn and made ridge marks on my cake, but I found the PME ones are fabulous.
However, if you do look to buy one, the PME Anodised ones are fabulous; they're not that expensive, and the cake has no lines on it whatsoever when it slides out of the tin. I started to replace my old solid tins because they were getting worn and made ridge marks on my cake, but I found the PME ones are fabulous.
I've moved your Unicorn Rainbow Cake Help bit of the post to the 'Cakes, Baking Help and Support' section so that anybody else looking for advice or ideas on a Unicorn Cake can see it. 
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