Birthday Cake Designs

Specially shaped tin moulds for baking cakes can be a large layout financially if you are only going to use it once or twice. It is of course possible to bake a simple cake and then carve and shape yourself into the design you desire. This is a great way to make many different kinds of novelty birthday cakes. You don’t need any special equipment to do this, as you can just bake the cake using a standard baking tin, and cut the cake up to make the required shape using a standard kitchen knife. Ideally, you would like a long kitchen knife that is serrated and is solid; a bendy knife could be more hassle than it is worth and should be avoided if possible.

Things to watch out for

Selection of Novelty Birthday Cakes

It is important however to remember to be gentle when carving up the cake to create your different shapes. You must ensure that the cake is able to be carved up without falling to pieces. It is sometimes, depending on the level of detail needed, easier to freeze the cake, then allow it to come back to room temperature before cutting. This will allow the cake to become more firm before the cutting begins, making even finer cuts possible, with less risk of splitting the cake. This however can be detrimental to the cake as there is occasionally an overly moistened part left in the centre of the cake after the freezing process.

What to make the cake out of

Another determining factor for carving novelty birthday cakes is what kind of cake to make. Whisked cakes, such as sponge cakes, are far too light and packed with small pockets for air to be carved properly. They are not strong enough to support multiple lairs and would no doubt collapse if you tried to make the cake overly complicated. Also take into account that after you have cut the cake into the required pieces, to give a thin coat of butter to the cake, called a crumb coating. This will keep the edges solid. A firm margarine here is best as it will firm up slightly, although it will be less easy to spread initially.

Bathtub Novelty Birthday Cake

A lot of novelty birthday cakes are create from a mixture of different kinds of cake. Perhaps made of a fruit cake at the bottom and a lighter sponge cake on top. This will allow a better distribution of weight and may allow you to create more complicated, layered designs. Remember that after you have finished carving up the cake, to keep the left over pieces as they can be made into other deserts such as trifles and even truffles.

Simple truffle recipe

Take all the leftover pieces that you have cut from the cake, including any butter/cream/jam. Place into a food processor and blend them up until you have a smooth solution. Added a little coco powder for taste and then continue to blend. Place the mixture into a bowl and place into the fridge. Take a teaspoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. If the crumbs don’t stick, add a little more jam, re-mix and place back in the fridge to re-set. Once it does stick roll the truffle in chocolate vermicelli and serve them in small foil or cake cases. If you need more information on baking cakes, consider taking an online Video Course that will help you in your cake baking endevours.