Saturday, May 2, 2015

Super Easy Birthday Cake Decorating Ideas

Looking for an Easy Peasy Birthday Cake?

Barrel of Candy Birthday Cake
Barrel of Candy Birthday Cake
I love the words easy when it comes to cooking and if you’re talking birthday cakes then I especially love the words quick and easy and that’s what these birthday cake recipes are.

I love spending lots of time decorating birthday cakes for my daughter as I get a lot of fun out of it, but sometimes time is in short supply which is why I’ve compiled some really simple birthday (or everyday) cake ideas together.

You can use a brought cake and brought fondant for these cakes or you can make your own so let’s have a look at some cool cake ideas ……..


Going Dotty Birthday Cake

Easy Polka Dot Cake

When my daughter had her 11th birthday I made a One Direction cake for her to take to school, but that left nothing at home for us to have. I had a sponge cake left over that I was planning on freezing, but instead I thought why not make her a quick cake to share with the family after school.

I used -
  • an un-iced sponge cake
  • some vanilla frosting (left over from her other cake)
  • some giant chocolate buttons
  • a flake bar

With all of these ingredients and very little time I whipped up a cake that impressed hubby, daughter and myself ..... it also tasted good. The only drawback is now I think dd expects two cakes every year!!

Easy Polka Dot Cake with Chocolate Buttons
Chocolate Button & Flake Cake
I basically covered the sponge with vanilla frosting and randomly stuck the chocolate buttons on the side of the cake - you could have stuck them on the top for a truly dotty cake, but as I had a flake bar I decided to use this on top. Flakes are supposed to just crumble, but as you can see there are some 'clumps' of flake in places, but I didn't say it would look perfect!

If you wanted to you could use chocolate or strawberry frosting along with white chocolate buttons all over the cake - it really is a very simple idea to use if you're caught short and need a cake quickly!

Of course this was made using a brought sponge and frosting, but you can use a home made cake and frosting if you wanted to - I was just trying to produce a cake as painlessly as possible!

Barrel of Lollies Birthday Cake

Easy & Colorful Cake

Easy to Make Barrel of Candy Cake
This cake is best for a layered birthday cake and will take a little more time than the polka dot cake, but is just as easy. The result, however, is stunning as you can see in the picture.

In order to make this cake I again brought all of the ingredients to prove that it really could be made of entirely store brought ingredients and still be a huge hit.

Supplies
  • 2 un-iced sponges (my supermarket sells them in a double pack which is handy)
  • 1 tub of vanilla icing
  • Kit kats
  • Smarties
  • Piece of ribbon that’s long enough to be tied around the finished cake
Ingredients for Barrel of Smarties Cake

Ingredients for Barrel of Smarties Cake


Now I've got some photos below which show you each step as we go, so be sure to check them out.

First you need to take your first sponge and place it on a plate or cake stand - this is a cake that you don't want to try and lift once you've made it so what ever you're planning on serving it on that's what you need to prepare it on. Worried about making a mess? That's okay I'll give you a little tip ......

Place strips of baking paper or greaseproof paper around your plate or cake stand and place your cake on it. This will protect the surface from icing etc and can be pulled out once the cake is finished


Once you've placed the first sponge onto your plate you just need to add frosting to the top and then place your second sponge on top. For this cake you actually don't need to worry about the top being flat which is good.

Now you need to add frosting to the top of the second sponge as well as to the sides of the cake. The frosting isn't going to be seen so you don't have to worry about keeping it really smooth, just make sure it covers the whole surface.

Now you’ll need to get your Kit Kats (this is the most time consuming part of the cake), you’re basically standing them up and sticking them onto the frosting all the way around so that it looks like the side of a wooden barrel. The number of kit kats you need will depend on the size of your sponge (mine used up about 30 'fingers' I think).

The next step is to pour in the M&Ms or Smarties - I used Smarties in this cake because they were on special! You need to make sure that they totally cover the frosting on the top, but how deep you want to make them is totally up to you. We used about 200 grams, but it was very generous!

My final touch was to add some ribbon around the outside of the cake, to be honest I'm not sure it really needed that, but I had a nice dotty design of ribbon which I thought would look good!

I think this is a great cake and it certainly has the wow factor.

How to Make a Barrel of Smarties Cake


This really is a gorgeous looking cake that will impress your children no end and as you can see it's very, very easy to make. There is one question that does get asked however and that's - how do you cut and serve this cake without making a big mess?

After I made it first I did think uh oh, but it actually wasn't too bad! You need to cut between the Kit Kat fingers and use a cake slice to lift each piece out. You will lose a few smarties, but not as many as you'd imagine (and we always have a lot of them on there!), if your kids are anything like the ones I've baked cakes for they'll love to see you lose some anyway and will be hanging around like seagulls at a beach picnic looking for stray ones.

I came across another variation of the Kit Kat Barrel of Lollies cake recently and seeing the picture it looks very easy to make indeed.

Basically follow the directions above from steps 1 through to 4 and then for the fifth step use six Kit Kat fingers to 'divide' the cake and add a large chocolate in the middle (they've used a Ferrero Rocher).

Next fill each 'slice' with chocolates of your choice from m&ms through to maltesers. You could even just use Smarties or M&Ms, but use different colored ones in the different 'slices'.

It does look really good doesn't it? My daughter is already trying to think of what different types of candy she'd like next time I make her a cake!


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Friday, March 13, 2015

Star Wars Cakes

How to Create an Awesome Star Wars Birthday Cake

Star Wars Birthday Cake
The pièce de résistance by TheNickster, on Flickr
There are so many ways to make a Star Wars themed cake that it’s hard to know where to begin!

If you’re in charge of cake duty for a Star Wars fan then there are some great cake ideas here for you from easy beginners cake ideas to more advanced bakers ideas.

Let’s take a look at how to create a range of different (and awesome) Star Wars birthday cakes that will make you any Star Wars fan's favorite baker.

But before you start to look I’ll leave you with a very bad pun ……..which you know just has to be said –

May the Cake be With You!

Super Easy Star Wars Cake Ideas

Star Wars Cake Decals


The easiest way to create a Star Wars cake is to buy a ready made sponge cake, some frosting and a cake decal. There are certainly some cool cake decals available to buy from the original Star Wars movies right through to the Clone Wars.

You can simply frost or ice a sponge and place the decal carefully on top – smooth it down and you have yourself a cool Star Wars cake. Here's one person's version - they've added candles to the top, but I must admit that I prefer it without candles ....

Star Birthday

If you’re feeling a little more creative then you can take the cake decal as a starting point and do a few other things to ‘jazz up’ the birthday cake a bit.

Firstly you could just pipe around the edges of your cake like this person has done -

Star Wars Cake

Secondly you could add designs around the side of the cake and this can be done in a number of different ways including cupcake decals, stencils and cookie cutters – let me go into more detail on these ideas……


Ideas Using Fondant for Your Star Wars Cake

Fairly Easy Ideas for a Cool Cake

If you decide to use fondant to cover your cake then you can still use a cake decal on the top of the cake, but you also have a nice smooth finish on the side of your cake that can be nicely decorated using more fondant or cake decals.

If you get some cool cupcake decals you simply smooth them onto the side in the same manner that you added the one to the top – this is a really easy way of adding more decorations to the cake without needing any artistic talent at all.

Another thing that you could do is to add stars to the side of the cake, after all it is Star Wars and there are stars in space! Simply roll out some spare fondant and use a cookie cutter to cut out stars – you can use a brush to paint a color onto them and then add a little water to the ‘under side’ of the star to help it stick onto the actual cake. Now I’ll admit I’ve never ‘painted’ fondant – I add food coloring to the fondant, knead it and then roll it out before cutting it. Either option will work.

When I saw this cool Star Wars cake I thought about using a stencil.

Two Tier Star Wars Cake

There are two ways of achieving this that I can see. One is by making your own stencil and then using a cool cake sprayer like they have on Ace of Cakes which you probably don’t have in your kitchen so that leads us to the second way…..

I would color your fondant first and then roll it out, next lay your homemade stencil on top of the fondant and cut it out. Brush the underside with a little water or a simple syrup and ‘stick’ it onto the side of the cake – how easy is that?

Making a Stencil
When I’ve made stencils for cakes I’ve simply downloaded an image from Google (only do this for personal use as otherwise you’re talking trademark violations), printed it out and then used a craft knife to cut the ‘inside’ of the image out creating a stencil.

Edible Star Wars Cake Images

The Easy Way to Create an Awesome Birthday Cake



Here's a selection of Star Wars Cake Decals (sometimes called edible cake images or icing images) that you can use for your birthday cake.


Use Cake Toppers to Transform Your Cake into a Star Wars Cake

Another Easy Way to Create an Amazing Cake



You can simply buy or bake your own cake, add frosting and then stick a cake topper or two on top in order to turn it from a run of the mill birthday cake to an out of this world Star Wars cake.

There are a number of different cake toppers available for you to use (I've included some below) and how much actual cake decorating you want to do is completely up to you.

Most images that you see of these cakes includes piping around the edge of the cake, but a way around this which you can use whether you frost the cake or cover it with fondant is cabouchons. This edible little balls can be placed around the outside of the cake very easily (although a little time consuming) and give the same 'framed' effect that piping can do.

Let's have a look at what Star Wars cake toppers are available for you to use .....

Star Wars Cake Topper and 24 Cupcake Toppers
This is a cool cake topper that can also be used as a toy long after the birthday cake has been eaten.

The lightsabers light up as well which is pretty cool, the only problem is that they don't stay lit up which is a shame. One commentator has said that he taped the switch on which worked - but lit up or not this cake topper is bound to be a hit.

This kit also comes with 24 lightsaber cupcake toppers which are a pretty awesome bonus.



Star Wars X Wing Cake Topper
This is a two piece cake topper set featuring both the Death Star and an X-Wing and makes a really cool looking birthday cake.

The Death Star is really only good as a cake decoration, but the X-Wing can be reused as a toy which is really cool.



Of course you don't have to use actual cake toppers on your cake - there are a number of different Star Wars mini figures which you can buy and pop on top of a cake. If the person loves Lego as well then I'd be looking at buying some Lego Star Wars minifigures and adding them to the cake.

The Clone Wars Cake Decorating Kit



There are lots of different Star Wars cake decorating kits available which include more than just a cake topper, this one featuring the Clone Wars includes two cake toppers and what's called a pop top decoration.

The cake toppers are Anakin Skywalker and General Grievous battling with their light sabers at the ready. The pop top is basically a thin plastic Clone Wars emblem which you put on the cake and it appears to 'pop' out because of the 2D effect.

Below you can see two different looks that can be achieved using the same decorating kit.
Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Cake Decorating Kit

This one uses a plain slab cake that has simply been iced and has had a little piping detail around the outside on both the top and the bottom of the cake - very simple and effective.

This cake decorating kit also includes four 6" plastic straws which can be used to support the cake if you want to have more than one layer ........ which is what we did with the following cake idea.



The steps makes the cake look a lot more interesting, the actual decorating isn't much harder than the cake above it's just the thought of layering a cake that some people find daunting!

I love how the same decorating kit can be used in two different ways and create cakes that look so different - there really is no end to what you can come up with just by using your imagination when you purchase these kits.

More Artistic Ways of Creating a Star Wars Cake

Gum Paste & Icing Techniques



If you're great at modelling then you could make your own edible Star Wars characters to place on top of your cake using gum paste. Personally I don't think I'd be able to make a figurine, but I have seen some amazing characters made by more creative people than myself.

If you're good at icing, which is really more about a good artistic eye and a steady hand then anything else, then there is no end to designs you can dream up. Google Star Wars cakes for some inspiration - check out Star Wars images online or in posters and just let 'the force' guide your hands!

Baking Your Own Star Wars Cake



Of course if you love to bake and you want to make a cake from scratch (you could even use a cake mix, I won't tell) then you can always get your very own Star Wars themed cake tin and there are lots to choose from.

Most of my cake pans are either round or rectangular, but I do keep looking at the different shaped ones with baker's envy! I love baking cakes throughout the year, but when it comes to making a birthday cake for someone I 'freak out' about it sinking or being as hard as rock or just plain tasting horrible! This is the reason why I always get a store brought cake and just decorate it.

If you're more confident about your baking than me you will love to use these cake tins (and one day I'll turn to them as well ....... in a few years time anyway!)

Star Wars Baking Pans

R2D2 Baking Tin



Star Wars R2D2 Birthday Cake
Wilton Star Wars R2D2 Contoured Baking Pan


This R2D2 baking pan is going back to the classic, old school Star Wars that is where it all began and who didn't fall in love with R2Ds, C-3PO and Chewbacca? They were the characters that I fell in love with when I saw Star Wars for the very first time (sorry Hans Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker etc).

This is why when I saw this Star Wars baking pan I knew that if I was every going to buy one it would be this one!

Made from quality aluminium this cake tin has some great contouring which makes the icing really easy once the cake is made. It comes complete with all of the baking and decorating instructions so you're not left wondering what to do next which is always a bonus.

Although the cake pan is made of a light weight aluminium it does allow even baking which is important as you want the cake to be baked evenly and not turn out too dry. Made by Wilton you just know that this cake pan is going to last for years - maybe generations of Star Wars fans to come??

More Star Wars Baking Pans



If R2D2 isn't one of your favorite Star Wars characters then you might prefer to use one of these other cake tins.

Wilton 2105-3035 Star Wars Cake Pan
This Wilton Darth Vader baking tin has to be the most classic of the Star Wars baking pans and until I started looking for actual baking pans a few years ago this was the only one I had come across!
As you'd expect from Wilton they provide instructions and tips for decorating this cake as well as the baking tin itself.



Wilton C-3PO Star Wars Cake Pan (502-2197, 1983)
If you're after an old school style of Star Wars cake then you can't go past C-3PO (well you could with R2D2, but you know what I mean!) - this cake tin even provides a space for you to personalize the cake after baking it which is a nice touch.



The Death Star Cake Ideas

A Great Star Wars Silicone Mold





I've added this Death Star mold here because it does far more than make awesome ice cubes, it can also be made as a decoration for your cake.

This can actually be baked which means you can make a Death Star cake, unfortunately it's more the size of a cupcake that a birthday cake, but that doesn't mean you can't add it as part of your cake - a cakey decoration so to speak. Simply make this Death Star cake and add it on top of a plain (or not so plain) iced slab cake and you'll have an awesome looking cake.

Alternatively you could make this Death Star out of chocolate and pop it on top of a cake in place of a cake topper or cake decal - really the different ways you can use this mold is limited only by your imagination.

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Monday, January 12, 2015

Fairy Birthday Cake Toppers

Make Your Fairy Birthday Cake Come Alive with Cake Toppers!

Decopac Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow Signature DecoSet Cake TopperCheck Price
I love using cake toppers to help decorate birthday cakes and these fairy cake toppers will make your little girl's dreams of a fairy birthday cake come true in an even bigger way than she would imagine - her face will light up like it's Christmas morning!

Fairies are a very popular theme for girls' birthday cakes whether they are in love with Tinkerbell and the Disney Fairies or whether they just love all fairies.

Let's go shopping for some gorgeous fairy birthday cake toppers to help you make your daughter's birthday even more special....

Edible Fairy Cake Toppers - Birthday Cake Decals




One of the easiest way to create a fairy cake is to purchase an edible topper like this. Simply ice a store cake and then place the decal on top - an instant fairy birthday cake!

This beautiful fairy cake above is nice and bright, but if your child loves the Disney fairies then she might prefer the two different edible cake decals below.

Non-Edible Fairy Cake Toppers

When it comes to non-edible fairy cake toppers there's a whole world of fairies for you to choose from. These are great because you can do some cake decorating of your own and combine it with toppers to produce a cake that will make your little girl's eyes pop out of her head.

Toppers can be used for both big birthday cakes as well as cupcakes as you can see below.

Fairy Birthday Cake and Birthday Cupcakes

The above image by American Candy Cupcakes is fairly easy to replicate.

The main cake simply has a pink buttercream frosting - the fairy topper is then placed on the top and you can use candy flower cake decorations and silver cabouchons to decorate the cake around the fairy. Adding a ribbon is something that I always seem to find hard (I don't know why), but to be honest I wouldn't bother I would just leave candy flowers and cabouchons around the side and I'm sure any little girl would be more than happy with the result.

Tinkerbell Birthday Cake Toppers

You could create a Tinkerbell cake in much the same way as the one above by simply icing the cake in your daughter's favorite colored icing and adding edible candy flowers and cabouchons with this Tinkerbell figurine taking pride of place as a cake topper

  Westland Giftware Disney Tinker Bell Mini Figurine, 3-1/4-InchCheck Price
This is a gorgeous figurine that does a great job doubling up as a cake topper, gift and play toy for after the party is over and the cake is eaten!


The following Tinkerbell cake topper also includes a fairy wand which is a nice touch.

Disney Fairies Cake Topper

This plastic cake topper doesn't require any extra decoration simply add it to an iced cake and you have Tinkerbell with her fairy friends just waiting to wish your little princess a happy birthday.

However, if you did want to do a bit of the cake decorating you can as you see with this cake that uses the same Disney Fairies cake topper above.

Adding Figurines to Your Fairy Birthday Cake

You don't have to stick to using actual cake toppers to decorate your birthday cake, you can use small figurines if you like. I don't know if you enjoy cake decorating or not, but I actually do - I just have problems making anything with a face like fairies, princesses or animals so I can't make a cake exactly like the one below, but I can make one that will impress my daughter just as much.....

Fairy Toadstool Birthday Cake

This fairy toadstool cake is beautifully made and I can imagine Foilman's 4 year old would have absolutely loved it.

Now you can create something similar with fondant and fairy figurines. First get your un-iced cake (I usually buy mine from the supermarket as opposed to making one as I want to spend all my time decorating). I would color some of your fondant green and use that as your 'base' on the cake - it doesn't have to be green as you could turn it into a fairy fantasy land with whatever color you like.

If you've gone with green and you want to create more texture so that it seems like grass (not absolutely necessary, but it's easy enough to do) simply get some shredded coconut in a bowl and add some green food coloring, mix it around until it's all the same color as the fondant and then sprinkle it over the top - pressing down so that it sticks.

Now how you want to decorate is entirely up to you - you could make a toadstool like in the image or another idea is to sculpt out a tree trunk. All you need is a little imagination. I read somewhere that fondant is like play-doh for adults and it's true!

Enesco Boyds Resin Butterfly Kisses Fairy FigurineCheck Price

If you've decided to create a toadstool then after you've made it you'll want to add a path and the easiest way to do this is to simply use sprinkles. I also love to add a few candy flower cake decorations as well.

But what about the fairy? This is where you can use figurines or cake toppers - sometimes it's hard to find a cake topper that isn't of Tinkerbell and as much as we all love Tinker there are lots of other cute fairies in the world like the figurine I've found opposite or below.


Safari Ltd Fairy Fantasies Tea Party SetCheck Price

This is a gorgeous fairy play set that would look perfect on a fairy cake and the bonus is that your daughter (or whoever you're baking the cake for) will be left with a play set after the cake is long gone!

More Fairy Cake Toppers

There are lots more fairy cake toppers, but I'm going to leave you with just two more.....

Bake Your Own Fairy Birthday Cake

If you're going to be baking your own fairy birthday cake then you have lots of different ideas to choose from and a range of different toppers that you can use. Look at the funky loveheart fairy cake that was made by mags20-eb

Heart Shaped Fairy Cake

Wilton Excelle Elite 9 x 2 1/4" Heart PanCheck Price
To create a cake like this one simply bake it in a heart pan, ice and add a fairy topper, figurine (mold your own fairy topper even) and then add some pieces of wire with hearts cut out of fondant in different colors.

Your daughter will love this 'celebration of fairies' style of birthday cake. You can even add a couple of sparklers alongside the wire with hearts on to add a little extra wow factor.

Fairy on a Log Birthday Cake

Nordic Ware Yule Log PanCheck Price
Usually log style cakes are baked at Christmas time - Yule Logs - but if you think about it they are also perfect for a fairy cake. Simply bake the cake and if you're used to making Christmas Yule Logs then you could decorate them exactly the same. Next add a fairy topper or figurine to the cake - one sitting would be the best option.

Fairy Land Cake

If you can produce a gorgeous cake like Moon Wink Bakery, above, then I really don't know why you're on this webpage!

If you just look at this cake and sigh then here's another idea - a tiered birthday cake. It doesn't have to be harder than baking a regular cake and it automatically looks more interesting because it has different layers.

Once baked add fairy toppers and whatever other decorations you like - candy flowers, candy hearts, cabouchons, sprinkles, edible ladybugs even fruit.

Topsy Turvy Birthday Cake

A topsy turvy cake is something that any little girl will love as it has shades of fantasy and Alice in Wonderland attached to it. Simply use colored frosting and a fairy cake topper and she'll be more than happy.........maybe even add a sparkler for some added pizazz.

An Ice Cream Filled Fairy Birthday Cake

Using these bake and fill cake pans means that you can add whatever you want to the inside and what do most children want for their birthdays? Ice cream! Instead of a straight ice cream cake you can serve up this and when you cut into it they'll find the ice cream surprise!

  3 TIER BAKE & FILL CAKE PAN WITH FILLER INSERT (BAKE A DESIGNER CAKE WITH YOUR FAVORITE FILLING!)Check Price
Once baked and filled you'll want to ice your cake and if using ice cream you really don't want to spend a lot of time decorating so I think adding strawberries and blueberries around the tiers with some edible sugar lady bug cake decorations to dot around the cake and a fairy topper to pop on the top, or even on one of the layers would make a perfect ice cream filled birthday cake for a little girl.

Fairy Birthday Cupcakes

Fairy Cupcake Towers

Fairy Cupcake Tower - Photo Credit -Sugar Daze

Cupcakes are quite popular at birthday parties and if you use a cupcake tower you can turn cupcakes into your little girls birthday cake! The cupcake tower above actually has a small cake on top of the tower with a fairy on it and then lots of cupcakes on the different tiers and it looks great.

If your daughter loves Tinkerbell you could try something similar with theDisney Tinkerbell Cake Topper for Petite Cake that's pictured (simply click on the image to purchase or find out more about it).

Disney Tinkerbell Cake Topper for Petite CakeCheck Price
Simply make a small cake to pop on top of your tiered cake stand - decorate it as per the instructions and add Tinkerbell on top - she's actually a cake pick. Next decorate your cupcakes with different colored frosting, sprinkles, flowers, ladybugs and more.

When my daughter asked for birthday cupcakes instead of a big birthday cake I actually really enjoyed making them because she wanted them all different so I simply made three batches of frosting - white, pink and blue - then I divided up the cupcakes and frosted an equal amount in each color. Next I got out all of my different colored sprinkles as well as some mini M&Ms and I made each cupcake different. Not only did my daughter absolutely love them all of her classmates also thought they were neat and the best thing of all by decorating only little cupcakes I didn't stress about messing something up!

Tinkerbell & Disney Fairies Cupcakes

This cupcake tower is decorated with the Disney fairies which means it will be an instant hit and all you have to do is make a batch of cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles and your daughter along with her friends will love it.

  Wilton Disney Fairies Cakescapes Cupcake Stand KitCheck Price
Of course, just because they're cupcakes it doesn't mean that you can't decorate them like the mini-cakes that they are. You can use cupcake wrappers as well as cupcake picks to decorate these fairy cupcakes in style.

You can even get edible cake toppers that are made for cupcakes - simply frost your cupcake and then add one of these toppers to the cake, delicious.

Cupcake Rings - Another Type of Cupcake Topper

Cupcake rings are a great way of decorating cupcakes and these Disney fairies ones are no exception.

Fairy Cupcake Kit

If your daughter loves fairies other than Disney you can still make her fairy cupcakes and one of the options is to use this cupcake kit which contains cupcake wrappers as well as cupcake picks.

What Do You Think of Fairy Birthday Cakes?

I love fairy birthday cakes although my daughter has outgrown her love of fairies unfortunately :(

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