The weekend just gone was my boyfriend's birthday and whilst I was browsing on eBay for little gifts I could get him i came across these marvel super hero rice paper cake toppers which i thought looked amazing! (can be found here;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-Superhero-Collection-Edible-Wafer-Paper-CupCake-Toppers-STAND-UPS-/110907472305?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item19d299b9b1 ) They were only £2.29 for 12 including p&p which i thought seemed like a really good deal to make a cake which will be quite individual. Now i enjoy baking and cooking but I'm probably the least artistic person you could ever meet so when it came to the decorating i was quite worried. In my head i knew exactly how i wanted it to look - 3 tiers with icing and butter cream swirls which held up the superheroes around the cake. in reality it didn't quite turn out to plan - it's not perfect but i think it turned out alright for a first attempt at a 3 tier cake. Here's my finished product;
If you'd like to try something like this yourself then please keep reading as I'll explain step by step exactly how i made the cake! (:
You will need:
Of course for your cake the decorations can be completely down to you - the only necessities are the sugar, flour, eggs and butter. I purchased all of the ingredients (expect the super heroes) at my local super market (Tesco) but I'm sure you will be able to find all you need in your shops too!
The first step I did was to cut out the rice paper super heroes, these came on 3 sheets with 4 pictures to each and were surprisingly easy to cut out - i was terrified I'd end up cutting Hulks head off or something! haha. Any kitchen scissors will do but be sure to wash them first and dry thoroughly as any moisture can make the pictures run. keep them stored safely in the bag provided until you are ready to place them onto the cake.
It was then time to begin baking for this cake i made three separate cakes - one 10 inch cake and two 7inch cakes. The sizes aren't too important at this part so don't go out especially to buy new cake tins as you can resize the cakes once baked to make the tiered effect. I did this for my top tier (a 7inch cake) using a bowl to cut round to make it a smaller size. I decided to make the mixture in two batches first beginning with the bottom 10 inch tier. For this size i weighed out 6oz (ounces) of butter, self-raising flour and sugar into seperate bowls, then combined the sugar and butter into a larger mixing bowl. This needs to be mixed together until it creates a light creamy mixture which doesn't feel too grainy (it should look something like the picture below after it has been mixed).
Next i added three eggs to the bowl one at a time as putting them all in together can cause the mixture to curdle. At this stage you need to be quite quick with the mixing. Once the three eggs have been added you should end up with something like this; (see below). As you can see the eggs make the mixture much thinner with a more liquid texture. It's important to mix this until the mixture looks smooth.
Now it's time to add in the flour which was wighed out earlier, this should be sieved in to keep the mix as light and airy as possible which will give the cake a better raise. It's best to add the flour in two halves and mix to avoid the mixture becoming too stiff and difficult to work. The final result should be a thick, silky looking mixture. The mix now is finished and can be baked as is but now is the stage to add in any extras you may want in your cakes such as food colours, chocolate chips or flavourings. I chose to add in some vanilla extract to give the cake a bit more flavour.
Prepare the baking tin by greasing the bottom and sides with some butter, and if you want to be extra precatutious that the cake doesnt stick use some grease proof paper. The best way to do this I find is to sit the tin on the paper and draw around it with a pencil, cut within the line and the paper will be the perfect size for your tin. Spoon the mix into the tin and then spread out carefully with the back of the wooden spoon being careful not to get it onto the sides of the tin as this will cook quicker and burn.
My oven is a fan assisted oven so it cooks a little quicker than some others due to this I set the temperature for 180 (degrees centigrade) for about 20 minutes. I checked on the cake once ten minutes in and turned it around to ensure a more even bake. To test if the cake is ready press lightly on the top if the cake springs back then it is done, if the dent remains then the cake needs longer.
Whilst this cake was baking i set about making the mixture for the two smaller 7 inch cakes. For these i made just one mixture using the same measurements and procedure as i had for the first cake however when it came to putting the mixture into the tins i halved it into two seperate ones.
Unfortunately this is the part where I stopped taking pictures as the decorating got me in a right mess, but I will try to explain what I did the best I can haha (:
Firstly I had to decide what I wanted to use the stick the fondant icing to the cake, there are a few options that can be used here such as butter cream, marzipan or jam. I opted for jam as I'd be putting frosting on top of the cake and i didnt want it to be too sickly. I measured out some jam into a microwave proof bowl and left it on the side until i was ready for it. Then I had to find an object about the size I wanted for my top layer to use a a cutting guide, I used a bowl which i placed in the middle of the cake and was left with about a 2 inch ring of cake which was no longer needed (this acted as a helpful snack to get me through the rest of the cake decoarting! haha).
I then opened up my block of fondant icing - this was a 500g block and i ended up using all of it which i wasn't expecting! so if you're cake is any bigger than mine was you may need to buy more than one bag! The icing i brought was white but i decided i wanted to make it a pale blue, using food colouring a few drops at a time i kneaded the colour into the icing on a icining sugar lined board (this helps prevent the icing from sticking). Once the icing was the desired colour I then broke it roughly into three each slightly bigger than the last as each of my cakes were different sizes. The icing needs to be rolled out on a board sprinkled with icing sugar, whilst this is happening pop the jam into the microwave for 30seconds-1minute to melt it slightly and make it more pliable. coat the cake in the jam then drape over the icing taking care not to split it. This didn't go to plan for me and there were lots of splits and cracks so i got creative and covered this up with the frosting, coloured sugar and the super heros!
Firstly I had to decide what I wanted to use the stick the fondant icing to the cake, there are a few options that can be used here such as butter cream, marzipan or jam. I opted for jam as I'd be putting frosting on top of the cake and i didnt want it to be too sickly. I measured out some jam into a microwave proof bowl and left it on the side until i was ready for it. Then I had to find an object about the size I wanted for my top layer to use a a cutting guide, I used a bowl which i placed in the middle of the cake and was left with about a 2 inch ring of cake which was no longer needed (this acted as a helpful snack to get me through the rest of the cake decoarting! haha).
I then opened up my block of fondant icing - this was a 500g block and i ended up using all of it which i wasn't expecting! so if you're cake is any bigger than mine was you may need to buy more than one bag! The icing i brought was white but i decided i wanted to make it a pale blue, using food colouring a few drops at a time i kneaded the colour into the icing on a icining sugar lined board (this helps prevent the icing from sticking). Once the icing was the desired colour I then broke it roughly into three each slightly bigger than the last as each of my cakes were different sizes. The icing needs to be rolled out on a board sprinkled with icing sugar, whilst this is happening pop the jam into the microwave for 30seconds-1minute to melt it slightly and make it more pliable. coat the cake in the jam then drape over the icing taking care not to split it. This didn't go to plan for me and there were lots of splits and cracks so i got creative and covered this up with the frosting, coloured sugar and the super heros!
My advice is to just be experimental and creative and see how it turns out, I found this really fun to do and may attempt a chirstmas inspired cake later on in the year!
Let me know if you attempt your own cakes and put some pictures in the comments cause i'd love to see!
lots of love
Lauren
xXx
