Cake Craft discussions and questions thread

[MissKitty]

Glad you're having success with the buttercream! It's quite forgiving if you do a dodgy swirl as well - have a sharp knife or thin palette knife nearby and you can just lift a dodgy swirl away (as long as you've just done it and it's not surrounded by others). Then back in the bag and voila.

You can tell I do a lot of dodgy swirls... I get piping RSI and it plays havoc with them!!!

[MissKitty]

OK - Project Sheep is in progress. Materials acquired. Board and box sorted. Design complete. Timings planned. Risks identified. Tolerances specified - contingencies planned. Transit arranged. (Yey for my PRINCE2 qualification! - more useful outside than inside the office )

I am doing a 3 layer tall madeira that I'll carve into a rounded edged sheep-like body, covered in a marbled (ivory and white) sugarpaste to give the approximation of a woolly coat. Legs from two mini swiss rolls covered in a darker shade of ivory (sheep always have dirty legs!) For wool I'm going to do some pronounced swirls atop the base layer, because hubby can help with those and it's not too tricky for him. I'm undecided whether to do a shallow small madeira to shape into an oval-ish face, or just use a moulded lump of sugarpaste. Am inclined to the former even though it's more work - any views?

And to finish, I am toying with covering the (rectangular) board with some grass-green sugarpaste with some tufts (pushed through the extruder), and dotting some daisies around on it. Last covered board I did was of the Windows 7 default background - hand painted and shaded - it took longer than the WIndows logo cakes that sat on it...)

How does that sound? Any thoughts or suggestions?

And... never marbled a large quantity of sugarpaste before - any tips for not getting it too blended so there's still some marbliness to it?

[Fozza]

Ooo the marbled sugar paste sounds really good. My tip is buy extra! Go for the cake for the face..have you not got any oval pie dishes? I used them for the bunny ears.

[MissKitty]

Ooo the marbled sugar paste sounds really good. My tip is buy extra! Go for the cake for the face..have you not got any oval pie dishes? I used them for the bunny ears.

I havn't got an oval pie dish... but I shall now be buying one when I'm in Tesco later

I've got extra sugarpaste, as I bought the bigger regalice blocks and have some Dr Oetker leftover and wrapped in cling from LOs cake a month ago, which is reserved for the head.

I hope the marbling idea works... I have a contingency for next Friday morning and a trip to my local sugarcraft supplier (3 mins down the road!) if it doesn't.

[SevilleOranges]

Hello

Does anyone have a nice fruit cake recipe that would be ok to be made now but eaten on the 26th July? thank you

[Wilma]

Thanks for the advice BC. The tins are 9 1/2 inches (24cm) by 4 inches (10 cm) and I have 2 so would make enough mixture for 2 tins. Weird Ikea sizing! I could buy a loose bottomed square tin as I don't actually have one of those but not sure I have time. I have plenty of round ones but they're not the best for trying to make rectangular carriages!

So thats, what, surface area of 36 sq inches ish, so the same as a 6 inch square, which is about the same as a 7" round, so the second lot of quantities in skips thread would be about right. Multiplied by two for your two tins. I think. Someone check my maths!

Your maths look good to me! Thank you so much for all the help. I may well be back to this thread but in the meantime I have to get cracking finding oreos, yummy sweets and some sort of board to put the whole thing onto!!

BC - that cake is delicious! Thank you very much for sharing the recipe.

Just an update, the cake worked really well and everyone loved it. Only problem was that the red buttercream turned out pink but W didn't seem to mind! The swiss roll for the engine worked very well and the only problem I had was that the 'cab' (3 layers of cake) wanted to tip backwards but that was partly my fault for dodgy construction!!

Thank you everyone who gave me advice, big success!

[blackberrycrimble]

Glad it worked out well, Wilma!

Seville, sorry not to be more helpful on your qu. I am away from home at the mo and all my recipes are there!

[weasley]

Hello

Does anyone have a nice fruit cake recipe that would be ok to be made now but eaten on the 26th July? thank you

Hello I have a good fruit cake recipe but most great fruit cakes need to mature for over a month. You can still eat them before, they'll just be a little young. What size do you wnat to bake and I'll post the correct quantities.

For a 8in round -
225g - sultanas
225g currants
225g raisins
115g chopped peel
2tbsp brandy
225g plain flour
50g ground almond
1tsp mixed spice
225g butter
225g soft brown sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp black treacle
1/2 tsp vanilla ex
115g glace cherries
50g chopped almonds
1 lemon rind and juice

1 Soak dried fruit in the brandy over night (or fruit juice)
2. Seive flour, spice and almonds in one bowl. Cream butter and sugar in another.
3. Mix eggs, trecle nd vanilla, beat into creamed mixture a little at a time and add a spoon full of flour after each addition.
4. Chop cherries, add to fruit with lemon, juice and rind, chopeed almonds and a little flour. Fold the remaining flour into creamed mixture, floowed by dried fruit. Add extra brandy or milk if necessary.
5. spoon into loined cake tin, level top then slightly hollow centre. Wrap a double layer of brown paper around the tim=n to protect cake and add an ovenproof container of water to the oven too, this will keep the cake moist.
6. Bake for 1.5 hrs at 150 degrees c then 2.5 hrs at 120 degrees c
7. Allow cake to cool in the tin. Wrap cake in parchment BEFORE foil. Store in a cool, dry place.

Hope this helps xx

[SevilleOranges]

Thank you weasley - I ended up using one i found in a book but it came out a bit dry - I will print off your recipe and use that as I need to practice wedding cakes (will it be ok for a wedding cake?) its so much better than the one that I used ! pictures on flickr - kids helped decorate

[MissKitty]

The sheep is in the oven... well its parts are. No that doesn't sound any better... I am awaiting the beeeeep that will herald the completion of the baking stage of Project Sheep, and debating whether I deserve a small tot of the special edition Jameson's we've got in

I just realised that now we have LO my cake cooling and settling space (his nursery) is no longer viable, so have to find somewhere safe in this house that's bursting at the seams to cool and stash the sheep cakes while I do them! Didn't factor that one into the project plan...

Next stage: buttercream, jam and layering

[weasley]

Thank you weasley - I ended up using one i found in a book but it came out a bit dry - I will print off your recipe and use that as I need to practice wedding cakes (will it be ok for a wedding cake?) its so much better than the one that I used ! pictures on flickr - kids helped decorate

Yep, should be lovely for a wedding cake, if it's left to mature. Also, could add more brandy by pricking cake and drizzling it in.

[MissKitty]

... Yep, should be lovely for a wedding cake, if it's left to mature. Also, could add more brandy by pricking cake and drizzling it in.

Now that's reminded me - I am mindful of an upcoming occasion where a rich fruit cake is needed but without the booze. If moistening a sponge/cupcakes I use a (flavoured) stock syrup, but I'm a little hesitant here as a fruit cake has a tendency to stickiness anyway.

Anyone come across a good alternative to feeding a fine fruit cake with alcohol?

[MissKitty]

And the sheep is now done

I'd not have managed to stay sane with this sheep without my extruder. If you don't have an extruder, you need one! If only to play with sugarpaste and not actually put it on a cake.

[wacky12]

Try apple juice, miss kitty.

[MissKitty]

Try apple juice, miss kitty.

Good thought! Will do - thanks!