Cake Makers Unite! (I Need Some Advice)

[Kitchen Diva]

Hi- after reading the entire baking thread it seemed that this board is FULL of semi-professional cake decorators, so I have a question.

I am making this cake for my niece http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50200

The directions are vague, but I'm gifted with common sense so I think I'll do just fine- here is my question.

Do I use skewers to give my cake some stability, or do you think wider drinking straws would work a little better? I've read from the reviews that the cake starts to topple, or slide off to one side because it is 6 or 7 layers and quite large.

I'm scaling it down to 9x6 because I don't have even one 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. So I'm making two 9x13's and cutting them in half to get my three layers, and then just two layers for the top part... I don't want any of the layers to fall off.

Suggestions? This is the first time I've made anything fancy like this with cake.

Oh- PS- should I frost each layer separately and THEN assemble, or just assemble like a normal layered cake?

 

[Dayna]

For my DD birthday I made this cake but I used drinking straws (the Mcdonald kind) and they didn't collapse. Plus I used the regular cones and then added the sugar cones to make the turrets (sp).

 

[vwpamperedchef]

I think the skewers would work best (more durable) the straws could bend and cause the cake to topple. You can get the skewers at the dollar store.

If you want frosting in between layers (i almost typed lawyers! LOL) then yes, i would say frost in between and then frost the sides once all layers are assembled.

I have never made a cake that involved, but that is just my recommendation!

Make sure you post a pic when you are done!! Can't wait to see!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Very cute! That looks pretty stable so I'd think that sturdy straws (not the cheap ones) or skewers would work fine.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Thanks, guys! I will post a picture when I'm done. I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, so I just finished making the cakes, they are cooling, and I'll assemble the thing tonight after dinner. BTW, I was wrong it is supposed to be EIGHT layers! I'm only doing 6... I will make an additional 9x13 cake just in case!

I have 4 tubs of frosting, 4 tubes of pink and purple frosting, 2 each in gel and regular frosting, 2 cans of pink and purple frosting with the star tips- and then I have a small piping bag with some assorted tips- I have sprinkles, large pastel candies, almost like those Necco Candy Wafers, only smaller and skinnier... and of course my creativity... Let's hope that's at it's best tonight! LOL

I might do straws with skewers inside to be safe! Thanks for all the help and advice, guys!!!

 

[lacychef]

I have no ideas, just had to say I love the cake! Post your pics when you're done; I'd love to make this for my dd's b-day:thumbup:

 

[Kitchen Diva]

AAAarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :grumpy: :grumpy:

Okay, so in order to "save" a little money I decided to alter that princess castle cake a little, and use 3 9x13 cake pans, and just cut and shave my pieces to perfection and then frost them- no problem, right?

WRONG!!! The cakes would NOT come out of the pan, I cut my palm with the serrated bread knife, I used an ENTIRE tub of frosting on ONE measly little 8x8 inch layer and all you see is little pink cake pieces in the frosting....GRRRRRRRRRRR

What I think happened is when I added the strawberry flavoring (because heaven forbid they make a strawberry/pink boxed cake mix- I know they make them, they just don't sell them at my grocery stores) So I bought some flavoring that was syrupy, and I needed to use almost the entire bottle just to flavor those cakes I made.

So I send DH to the store for another cake mix- he's on his way home and I call and tell him I need 2 more tubs of frosting- he goes back...he's home IN the driveway and I tell him I need him to go back and get me 2 more cake mixes because the other cake wouldn't come out of the pan, and I destroyed it trying to get it to come out- he goes BACK to the store, and I call him as he's unlocking his car and tell him I need eggs, and would he be so kind as to buy me some 8x8 inch square pans so I can do this the way it was supposed to be done.

Thankfully he's chuckling at me because I owe him BIG after all that running around he did tonight...BTW- the next time I try to save money, I'm not going to- if I would have just bought the pans I needed, and didn't worry about making the cake pink and strawberry flavored, this never would have happened....

I'll be up late, so I'll post pics tomorrow night sometime after the party. I just had to vent-

:cry: :cry: :cry:

 

[pamperedlinda]

Hugs! I'm sure it will be beautiful and you will be the Best Aunt Ever!

 

[quiverfull7]

THAT CAKE is precious!!!!!!!!

 

[mpkegley]

I made a castle cake one time, but I believe it was round. Best of luck to you!!

 

[chefshawna]

I made one for my DD's b-day last year, but it was round. That one is cute, I hope it turns out all-right for you. I don't know if you know the trick of dipping your spreader in hot water to smooth the icing on. You just have to make sure you aren't getting too much water on the cake, but it helps with the frosting sometimes. Hope that helps some!!

 

[KellyTheChef]

:grumpy: :grumpy:

Okay, so in order to "save" a little money I decided to alter that princess castle cake a little, and use 3 9x13 cake pans, and just cut and shave my pieces to perfection and then frost them- no problem, right?

WRONG!!! The cakes would NOT come out of the pan, I cut my palm with the serrated bread knife, I used an ENTIRE tub of frosting on ONE measly little 8x8 inch layer and all you see is little pink cake pieces in the frosting....GRRRRRRRRRRR

What I think happened is when I added the strawberry flavoring (because heaven forbid they make a strawberry/pink boxed cake mix- I know they make them, they just don't sell them at my grocery stores) So I bought some flavoring that was syrupy, and I needed to use almost the entire bottle just to flavor those cakes I made.

So I send DH to the store for another cake mix- he's on his way home and I call and tell him I need 2 more tubs of frosting- he goes back...he's home IN the driveway and I tell him I need him to go back and get me 2 more cake mixes because the other cake wouldn't come out of the pan, and I destroyed it trying to get it to come out- he goes BACK to the store, and I call him as he's unlocking his car and tell him I need eggs, and would he be so kind as to buy me some 8x8 inch square pans so I can do this the way it was supposed to be done.

Thankfully he's chuckling at me because I owe him BIG after all that running around he did tonight...BTW- the next time I try to save money, I'm not going to- if I would have just bought the pans I needed, and didn't worry about making the cake pink and strawberry flavored, this never would have happened....

I'll be up late, so I'll post pics tomorrow night sometime after the party. I just had to vent-

:cry: :cry: :cry:

Oh Kacey! Glad your DH saw the humor in all of his running around!!
Hope your cake turns out beautifully!!

Kelly

 

[erinyourpclady]

Tomorrow I am making the Sand castle Cake off the latest cover of Family Fun....................
We shall see.....

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Hmmm- not quite what I was expectingOkay, so the cake turned out alright. Thankfully no one over the age of 9 will be eating it, so I'm fine with the fact that I forgot to poke holes in the turrets (sp?) for the flags I was supposed to make.

I will get a picture of it tomorrow, but I must say, I'm not too proud of it. I should NOT have used tubs of frosting, nor should I have gone with candy I knew my niece would like. She doesn't really care for the candies they used in the original cake...like I said- for my first attempt at a free form cake I did alright, but I would never enter it into a contest.

I think I'll run to the local bakery tomorrow and pick up an additional cake. This one is not big enough to feed 22 people like I thought it would.

Thanks for the advice- next time I'm going to buy a Wilton pan and do like you guys do each year for a cake!

 

[TheChaoticCook]

OH you poor thing! Your DH deserves a medal, mine would have had a heart attact after the 3rd call to go back to the store!!

I'm sure the kids will LOVE the cake!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Kacey, I am sure you are your own worst critic - post the picture and let us have a crack at it! LOL

I'm sure you are exhausted, I always underestimate how long it takes to do the cakes. I bet you had fun doing it and your neice will love it and love you all the more for doing this special treat for her.

 

[Dayna]

Kacey if I can find a picture of dd cake I'll post and you'll laugh. I just knew I could do an amazing cake. I thought it looked horrible. But she loved it and when we saw a princess cake in the store she bragged about how cake was better. She'll love it because you made it.

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Kacey, next time (if there is a next time) you could just dye the cake mix (if dear neice doesnt care about the strawberry taste).

Also, another thought, and I know funds are tight, but Wilton Or Williams Sonoma makes actually a "castle" mold. I saw it the other day. You could probably find one on Ebay.

I am sure it is fine and DN will LOVE IT because Aunt Kacey made it with LOVE!

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I have that castle pan but during frosting I think it would lose its castle theme I always have to glaze it and sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on it

 

[lacychef]

Oh man, what a good hubby you have to go back to the store! Sorry you had difficulties.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I'll go ahead and post a picture, but in all honesty, I'm sort of embarassed...I can cook like there's no tomorrow 9except meatloaf and burgers) and I can bake fancy desserts, but I need some practice with the cake decorating.

 

[reba515]

:grumpy: :grumpy:

Okay, so in order to "save" a little money I decided to alter that princess castle cake a little, and use 3 9x13 cake pans, and just cut and shave my pieces to perfection and then frost them- no problem, right?

WRONG!!! The cakes would NOT come out of the pan, I cut my palm with the serrated bread knife, I used an ENTIRE tub of frosting on ONE measly little 8x8 inch layer and all you see is little pink cake pieces in the frosting....GRRRRRRRRRRR
What I think happened is when I added the strawberry flavoring (because heaven forbid they make a strawberry/pink boxed cake mix- I know they make them, they just don't sell them at my grocery stores) So I bought some flavoring that was syrupy, and I needed to use almost the entire bottle just to flavor those cakes I made.

So I send DH to the store for another cake mix- he's on his way home and I call and tell him I need 2 more tubs of frosting- he goes back...he's home IN the driveway and I tell him I need him to go back and get me 2 more cake mixes because the other cake wouldn't come out of the pan, and I destroyed it trying to get it to come out- he goes BACK to the store, and I call him as he's unlocking his car and tell him I need eggs, and would he be so kind as to buy me some 8x8 inch square pans so I can do this the way it was supposed to be done.

Thankfully he's chuckling at me because I owe him BIG after all that running around he did tonight...BTW- the next time I try to save money, I'm not going to- if I would have just bought the pans I needed, and didn't worry about making the cake pink and strawberry flavored, this never would have happened....

I'll be up late, so I'll post pics tomorrow night sometime after the party. I just had to vent-

:cry: :cry: :cry:

next time do a "crumb layer" , in most recipes "if" they even bother to tell you to do one they don't tell you to pop it in the fridge for a few minutes so the crumb layer hardens.I sometimes even do it the day before.

This makes frosting your final layer so easy & without crumbs

 

[pamperedlinda]

next time do a "crumb layer" , in most recipes "if" they even bother to tell you to do one they don't tell you to pop it in the fridge for a few minutes so the crumb layer hardens.I sometimes even do it the day before.

This makes frosting your final layer so easy & without crumbs

I also take a pastry brush and brush-off as many crumbs as possible.

You were using canned frosting - right? Next time empty the cans into a bowl and whip them up a little with your electric mixer. That should make them easier to spread.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Well, here is the cake- please be gentle...it's my first time

Here is the cake I made- remember to be gentle...it was my first attempt at decorating a cake like this. I don't like it all that much and thought I'd be able to do a better job, but when you buy cheap tools, what do you expect?

 

[chefshawna]

I think it is wonderful!!! I don't see a thing wrong with it, you are being your own worst critic!!! It's colorful, fun and covered in candy, that's every kids dream cake! I really believe that what really matters is the fact that you actually took the time to bake and decorate it instead of buying it. I make all my kids cakes and they are far from being professional, but I make the effort and spend my time doing them and my kids love them. Every one I do looks better than the last and I've never used a mold, so one day I will get it down to an art!
But, anyway I say job WELL DONE!!!!

 

[afeller]

Your cake is AWESOME!!!!!!

 

[daniellemorgan]

I think the cake turned out beautiful!! I think you should give yourself a break

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Kacey! You should be proud!! It looks amazing! You are being to harsh on yourself! (come on, don't you realize how many professionals it probably took to make the one on the website?)

AMAZING! Hope DN loved her cake!

 

[Jennie4PC]

I think you did an awsome job. Maybe I will do that cake for my DD's 2nd birthday.

 

[KellyTheChef]

Kacey...you are being way too critical of yourself! What did your neice have to say? I'll bet she was IN LOVE with her cake! (and loved YOU for making it for her!!)

You did a super job!!

Kelly

 

[erinyourpclady]

And here is mine.......
http://www.slide.com/s/irG5iZSV3j9WYC61KPKkQ6JgMGpUovlB?referrer=hlnk

 

[erinyourpclady]

And here is after I remembered to put the chocolate shells I made on it!
Oh and that is the Birthday girl!!!

http://www.slide.com/s/ZvTU_FUW0j-S8kpaEAlaOx62a3l3EvQD?referrer=hlnk

 

[erinyourpclady]

Here is the cake I made- remember to be gentle...it was my first attempt at decorating a cake like this. I don't like it all that much and thought I'd be able to do a better job, but when you buy cheap tools, what do you expect?

It is FABULOUS and I am sure your DN thought it was the BEST!!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Great cake Kacey! What did your DN think about it - afterall, she's the only one who matters

 

[jbdowd0798]

KACEY! Don't be so hard on yourself. I was looking forward to laughing because the cake was horrible but GIRL! ITS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of you!!!!

The way you talked about it, I thought it was just going to be end up a pile of cake with a glob of frosting and candies thrown on! LOL This is amazing.

 

[janetupnorth]

It looks great Kacey - I'm sure she loved it! My SIL made that cake a few years ago for her daughter. Yours looked just as good if not better!

 

[crystalscookingnow]

Kacey - I agree! The cake is great! Hope that she loved it & give yourself a break!

 

[mpkegley]

The cake looks great! Give yourself a pat on the back and I bet DN loved it.

 

[lacychef]

I agree Kacey; you're way too hard on yourself! I think it looks great

Erin, yours is very cute too!

 

[heather223]

Kacey and Erin, both of those cakes look great! :chef:

 

[crystalscookingnow]

Erin - I totally love your cake too! It's great! Such a cute idea!

 

[4kids4me]

I'm trying to add pics of the dragon cake (Family Fun) I made and a castle cake I did using a Wilton kit. How do I add pics?? TIA!

 

[quiverfull7]

Kacey... your cake is MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this... I am going to do this for my 5 year old in Sept! Erin, I can't see the pics of yours... can anyone explain why?

 

[KellyTheChef]

I'm trying to add pics of the dragon cake (Family Fun) I made and a castle cake I did using a Wilton kit. How do I add pics?? TIA!

Here is a thread that tells you in detail!!

http://www.chefsuccess.com/f18/photo-thread-14528/

http://women.evenhealth.com

 

[janezapchef]

Kacey, I am so glad you started this thread! I am planning on making this exact cake for my DD's b-day in a couple weeks, and I'm definitely inexperienced in the cake area. I am notorious for too much frosting because that's how I fix my mistakes. Then the cake ends up tasting like crap because there's sooooo much frosting on it (my barbie cake I made last year had 2 or 3 entire cans of frosting on it because I'm stupid and couldn't figure out how to frost it . It looked pretty, but didn't taste very good (and I am a huge frosting fan, so, that's really saying something)! Anyway, I brought my DD in here this morning to show her your picture of the cake and she screamed "OOOOOOOOOH! THAT'S GOING TO BE MY CAKE!!!!!!!" She's going to be 4 and has a really great memory, so, I'm probably stuck with trying it! So, again, thanks for starting this thread!

 

[4kids4me]

Here are cakes I made last year. The dragon was for the Twins' 2nd bday and the castle for my dd's 4th. The dragon is from Family Fun and the castle is a Wilton cake kit. (hope this works -thx for the help!)

 

[4kids4me]

And here's a Haunted House cake I made last fall for my 6yo. This is also from a kit. It was fun for us to do together!

 

[chefSherry]

Kacey - you did a fantastic job!!!! I have a friend who decorates cakes and she recommends baking them the day before, cooling completely, wrapping and freezing the cake. This makes it easier to cut the frozen cake into proper shape the day of assembly (with a bread knife or our tomatoe knife for fewer crumbs.) Brush away any crumbs and frost with a thinned frosting for a "crumb layer" like someone suggested above. Assemble, frost & decorate!
This also does away with one huge baking day. I like breaking things down into smaller tasks!

 

[Jennie4PC]

Erin how did you do that cake it looks awsome.

Jane your story totally reminded me about a party I went to in July. The girl used 5 bags of powdered sugar for her frosting.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Okay, did I just read a page of "Your cake looked great!!"??? Or do I need to lay off the Nyquil!? LOL

Thanks for the sweet words, guys! I just thought it looked slightly juvenille(sp?) (Again, I'm sick, and just got done taking loads of medicine and medicated tea's) My Niece thought it was cool- and was so excited to have a princess cake. I wouldn't eat it, since I knew how many tubs of frosting it took just to frost it.

I would make my own white frosting next time, and not forget to poke the holes in the ice cream cones, because I wasn't able to put the flags on it. And I'd partially freeze the cakes- I had no room in the fridge or the freezer-

You guys are too sweet! Thanks for making me feel like a ROCK STAR cake decorator!

I'm going back to bed and hopefully get rid of these chills, sore throat, sniffles, watery eyes and fever.

Lots of love to my cake baking Homies!