Tutorials Archives - The Love of Cake

July 28, 2016 by Lauren

Sailboat Birthday Cake

I love making themed cakes for children’s birthday parties, especially for family and friends, as you get to see the child’s excitement when they first see the cake (not to mention eating it!). My nephew loves boats. For his 2nd birthday he had a nautical themed party and asked for a sailboat birthday cake. I did a lot of research into different types of sailboat cakes and many of them seemed really complicated. I’ve tried to make this cake as easy as possible.

The first step is to find a large rectangular baking pan.

When making themed birthday cakes I don’t want to spend all my time baking and mixing the cake so I always use my fool proof trick ‘how to make a packet cake taste like homemade’ which you can find here. For this cake I used two packet cake mixes.

So, this is how you make a sailboat birthday cake!

Once baked and cake has completely cooled cut like so.

I recommend making the cake the day prior to decorating as you can store it in the fridge overnight, making the cake easy to cut and alleviating any worry about it breaking into pieces, especially if it is a very moist cake like this one.

Now position how you would like the sailboat cake to be placed and check the cut is correct. As you can see it looks pretty rough but icing will cover any lumps and bumps. The good part is if you wanted to make the sailboat smaller you could trim the cake now to change the size or correct any errors in cutting.

It’s time to frost the cake! I started with the white frosting for the sails. You can find my frosting recipe here. Add a few drops of Wilton White White Icing Color to get that crisp colour.

Frosting Tip #1

The best way to frost when you have exposed cake crumbs from cutting into a shape is to do a rough icing layer collecting cake crumbs and all. Once frosted then refrigerate for 15 mins. This will allow the icing to set and then when you do the final layer the cake crumbs will be set and won’t run into the top layer of icing.

Here is the top layer. As you can see, it’s smooth with not a cake crumb in site.

Frosting Tip #2

To make the top layer of frosting super smooth use a metal spatula and before smoothing dip the spatula into a cup of boiling water, quickly wiping off excess water and then slowly running the spatula across the frosting.

Before the frosting set, I decorated the sails, opting for a simple pattern made with smarties.

Now for the base of the sailboat cake. I used my favourite chocolate frosting recipe. It always works and tastes delicious. Click here…. My Favourite Chocolate Buttercream!

Frosting Tip #3

I always use an offset icing metal spatula, see example offset icing metal spatula. This type of spatula helped to create the indents in the frosting of the boat section of the cake.

It’s time to add the top sail and place onto your cake board. For the top sail I just cut a small flag out of blue wrapping paper and doubled it over securing around a toothpick.

Happy 2nd Birthday James!

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July 2, 2015 by Lauren

Triple Layer Mud Cake with Chocolate Buttercream & Ganache

I can’t lie. This cake was hard work. Once you have the first bite you will see it’s well worth it though!

Look at those layers…. starting from the top; marble mud cake, dark chocolate mud cake and finally white chocolate mud cake.

Each layer is made in its own individual cake tin; however it’s only mixing up two cake recipes. For speed I did both mixtures at the same time, that way all three cakes could bake at once.

The cake mix can be split into three easy steps.

Step #1 – Mix up chocolate mud cake as per recipe. Take approximately two thirds of the mixture and pour into a cake tin. Set aside the remaining one third of the mixture.

Step #2 – Mix up white chocolate mud cake as per recipe. Take approximately two thirds of the mixture and pour into a cake tin. Set aside the remaining one third of the mixture.

Step #3 – This is the fun part. Making the marble cake. With your third tin add spoonfuls of the dark and white chocolate mix, then swirl. Yum… it kind of looks like scoops of ice cream.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in a moderate oven at 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit).

Once baked, allow your cakes to cool for atleast two hours before layering with buttercream filling.

This buttercream filling is amazing! I made mine extra white with Wilton White Icing Colour so it stands out when you cut the cake layers and loses that yellowy look.

Time to layer it up! To separate the white chocolate and marble cake layers I felt the best way to layer the cake would be with white chocolate mud cake on the bottom, followed by dark chocolate mud cake and topped with marble mud cake.

For the buttercream filling you want it to be thick so when the cake is cut you can distinctly see the separation between the layers. Go ahead and layer it on thick! Once layered, go around the edge of the cake to remove any excess buttercream as you don’t want the white colour to ooze through chocolate topping.

Tips for buttercream filling

#1 – Layer cake with the buttercream filling one day prior to icing as this will allow it to set well and make icing the cake easier. This will also prevent the white buttercream from mixing with the chocolate topping.

#2 – Try to keep buttercream layers even

#3 – Make it thick so the layers will stand out

#4 – As the cake is heavy, layer it on the plate or cake board that it will be served on as it will be very difficult to move once decorated

One of my favourite ways to decorate a cake is with rich dark chocolate buttercream… for the triple layer cake I couldn’t decide between dark chocolate butter cream icing or chocolate ganache… so I thought, why not do both?

Layer the dark chocolate butter cream on thick, start at the top of the cake and work your way down the sides of the cake.

This amazing chocolate buttercream icing is filled with dark chocolate so by the time it comes to smooth the icing you will notice it has begun to set which makes smoothing difficult.

My tip is to dip the metal spatula or knife into a cup of boiling water, quickly wipe and then smooth around the cake. The heated spatula will make a smooth finish like this… remember it doesn’t need to be perfect as we are about to drizzle chocolate ganache all over it.

Can chocolate and cream look any better than this? Start drizzling from the centre of the cake and just let the ganache dribble down the sides of the cake.

I dribbled the entire quantity of the ganache all over the cake as I wanted good coverage. If you would like your cake to have more of the buttercream icing showing through, just add less ganache as you are pouring. The cake does look a bit of a mess so before the ganache sets move any excess from the base with a spatula and then clean the plate.

I was thinking of making chocolate curls, but was running out of time. To make the white chocolate decoration it is really simple. Melt white chocolate, spread a thin layer on a tray with baking paper, place in the freezer until it sets, then just crack into large pieces and push into the top of the cake in any pattern you like.

And you are done! Now for a slice of cake and coffee… that will make for a lovely afternoon.

Happy baking!

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Triple Layer Mud Cake with Chocolate Buttercream and Ganache

Author: Lauren

Recipe type: Baking

Prep time: 3 hours

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 3 hours 35 mins

Ingredients

Chocolate Mud Cake

160 grams (5.5 oz) unsalted butter
200 grams (7 oz) dark chocolate
1⅓ cup caster sugar
1 cup plain flour
½ cup self raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk

White Mud Cake

160 grams (5.5 oz) unsalted butter)
250 grams (9 oz) white chocolate
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup of buttermilk
1⅓ cup plain flour
½ cup self raising flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking powder

Marble Mud Cake

Once dark and white chocolate mixes have been made ⅓ of each mix is set aside to create marble mud cake

Vanilla Buttercream

250 grams ( 9 ounces) butter
600 grams ( 4 cups) pure icing sugar sifted
60ml (1/4 cup) full cream milk
Wilton White Icing colour (optional)

Chocolate Buttercream

250 grams (9 ounces) butter
600 grams (4 cups) pure icing sugar sifted
2 tablespoons cocoa
250 grams (9 ounces) dark chocolate melted
60ml (1/4) cup of full cream milk (optional)

Chocolate Ganache

¾ cup thickened cream
200 grams ( 7 ounces) dark chocolate
25 grams ( 1 ounce) unsalted butter

Instructions

Dark Chocolate Mud Cake

Grease 18 cm (8 inch) round tin
Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder. Set aside.
In a separate bowl melt dark chocolate and then set aside to cool
In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add vanilla
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture, mix well after each addition
Stir in melted chocolate and mix until well combined
Add in a third of the sifted ingredients and a third of buttermilk, repeat until all combined
Pour two thirds of mixture into greased pan. The remaining one third of the mixture should be set aside for marble cake
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean in 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) oven
Cool for ten minutes in the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool

White Chocolate Mud Cake

Grease 18 cm (8 inch) round tin
Sift flour and baking powder. Set aside
In a separate bowl melt white chocolate and then set aside to cool
In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add vanilla
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture, mix well after each addition
Stir in melted chocolate and mix until well combined
Add in a third of the sifted ingredients and a third of buttermilk, repeat until all combined
Pour two thirds of mixture into greased pan. The remaining one third of the mixture should be set aside for marble cake
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean in 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) oven
Cool for ten minutes in the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool

Marble Mud Cake

Grease 18 cm (8 inch) round cake tin
Drop alternative spoonfuls of dark and white cake mixes into tin
Once full swirl a spatula or thin knife back and forth through the mix
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean in 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit) oven
Cool for ten minutes in the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool

Vanilla Buttercream

Butter needs to be at room temperature so remove from fridge at least one hour prior to use
Cut butter into small cubes and place into mixing bowl
Use electric beater on high and beat butter for 3 minutes or until fluffy
Gradually add icing sugar a cup at a time with a small amount of the milk until all combined
If icing is fairly thick add small amounts of milk until happy with consistency
Add chosen icing colour and mix until well combined
This recipe will make enough icing for one cake or 12-18 cupcakes depending on the icing technique used

Chocolate Buttercream

Melt dark chocolate and allow to cool slightly
Butter needs to be at room temperature so remove from fridge at least one hour prior to use
Cut butter into small cubes and place into mixing bowl
Use electric beater on high and beat butter for 3 minutes or until fluffy
Mix in sifted cocoa powder
Gradually add icing sugar a cup at a time. If icing sugar is not dissolving well add small amount of the milk but only if required
Mix in melted dark chocolate until well combined

Chocolate Ganache

Melt chocolate and butter together in saucepan over low heat stirring regularly
Add cream and allow to simmer for 5 minutes
Set aside to cool 5- 10 minutes then apply to cake

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April 24, 2015 by Lauren

How To Make A Packet Cake Mix Taste Homemade

We all know that sometimes you need to use a store bought packet cake mix, but that’s no reason you can’t try to disguise it as homemade.

There is no doubt many packet cake mixes are delicious, but I love to make them just that little bit tastier. First of all it’s good to start with a well known and trusted brand as your base for the packet cake mix, my personal favourites are White Wings and Betty Crocker.

Today I have chosen chocolate cake but the same substitutions can be made with any vanilla cake – just substitute dark chocolate for white chocolate.

It’s fairly simple just make the following changes and additions!

#1 Switch oil to melted butter

#2 Use buttermilk instead of water

#3 Add one extra egg than the packet cake mix calls for

#4 Add half a cup of melted chocolate buttons. If vanilla cake, use white chocolate and if chocolate cake, use dark or dairy milk chocolate. Always remember that the chocolate should be of good quality

#5 Follow the packet cake method as outlined on the packaging, simply substituting ingredients as outlined above. Add the chocolate once all other ingredients have been mixed

#6 As your cake will have slightly more wet ingredients than the packet cake mix calls for, this will make your cake that much more moist and rich. Allow enough time to give the cake an extra 10 minutes to bake if it needs.

If you love rich and moist icing as I do, all you need to do is add 1 cup of good quality melted chocolate buttons to the packet icing mix. I think you’ll agree that it’s super simple and that much more delicious.

Here is the finished product, with a little grated white chocolate to decorate.

Look how moist and pretty that is! Don’t eat it all at once!

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