Tag Archives: birthday

How to make a bunny rabbit birthday cake

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On the Friday before the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, my boss asked me where he could get a custom made cake for his wife’s birthday – the following Monday.

Unsurprisingly, the local bakery said it was too short notice, so I offered to make one, even though it was the same weekend I had to make my competition cakes AND a secret birthday cake for the pony – I do like a challenge!

He said he wanted a rabbit cake as his wife, Debs, loves bunnies. When I searched on Google I couldn’t find anything that looked like what I wanted so I kind of just made it up, but I think it turned out well so in case anyone else should ever need to make one, here’s how I did it!

You will need:

  • 1 x 9″ round chocolate cake
  • 1 x 7″ round chocolate cake
  • chocolate fudge icing
  • white chocolate buttercream
  • 25g white chocolate for decoration
  • 14″ cake board
  • baking paper, a pen/pencil, a knife and spatula
(recipes for cakes and icing follow the tutorial)

Start by making sure both cakes are level and roughly the same height as each other. Turn them over, so the already flat and even bottom is on top.

I found it helped me to make templates of the shapes I was going to cut out so I made a 9″ round out of baking paper, then cut it straight across the bottom, about an inch and a half from the edge of the circle. Lay it on top of the 9″ cake, then cut along the line. Don’t throw away the bit you’ve cut off, you’ll need it later!

Place the 9″ cake on the cake board with the flat side near the bottom of the board – this will be the body of the rabbit. Lay strips of baking paper along all sides to make it neater when it comes to icing.

Take the piece of cake you cut from the body, then cut it an an angle as in the picture below – the smaller bit will make the rabbit’s from feet.

Place the feet on the board by the body.

Take the 7″ cake and trim it to about 5.5″ diameter – I drew around a cereal bowl for the template.

Once you’ve got a smaller circle of cake, it’s going to be cut into three pieces, as shown on the template below.

Use the 9″ cake tin to draw around to create the oval on the right, then just draw the line on the right freehand. Cut the cake according to the template.

Take the middle of the cake and place it next to the body of the rabbit to make the head.

Then take the oval you cut off and lie it above the head, pointing backwards to make the ears.

Take your leftover scraps of cake and crumble them up in a bowl. Add in a tablespoon of the chocolate icing, and squeeze it into a ball – this can be used as the rabbit’s tail.

Apply a thin layer of chocolate icing all over the rabbit, and a thin layer or white buttercream on the tail. Transfer the cake to the fridge for 10 minutes for it to firm up.

Spread the rest of the icing all over the cake using a spatula, getting it as smooth as you can, then add an oval shaped eye with the white icing and pupil with a little dot of the chocolate icing. Remove the paper from underneath.

To finish the cake, melt the white chocolate and pipe on a nose, whiskers, and any birthday message. Rabbit cake done!

The sponge cake and chocolate icing recipe I used for this is my go-to chocolate fudge cake recipe from Joanna Farrow’s ‘Chocolate’. The white chocolate buttercream I made up with what I had on hand!.

For the cake:

  • 250ml buttermilk
  • 125g plain chocolate
  • 125g butter or margarine
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time. Sieve the dry ingredients into the cake and fold until well combined. Beat in half of the buttermilk, then the melted chocolate and remaining buttermilk.

Divide between a greased and lined 9″ tin and 7″ tin. Bake at 160 degrees for 25-30 minutes – the smaller cake will cook a bit quicker than the large one, but they should be risen, springy to the touch and a skewer should come out with just a few fudgy crumbs.

Chocolate fudge icing:

  • 250g dark chocolate
  • 125g butter
  • 200g icing sugar
  • 5 tbsp milk

Heat the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Leave until completely melted, then remove from the heat, stir once and beat in the sugar and milk until well mixed. Leave to cool until a spreadable consistency.

White chocolate buttercream

  • 50g butter
  • 25g white chocolate
  • 100g icing sugar

Beat the butter to soften, then add the melted chocolate and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add a little more sugar or milk if you want it thicker/thinner in consistency.

 

Strawberries and cream chocolate Ivy cake

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Last weekend, our neighbour Ivy celebrated her 91st birthday. NINETY-ONE!

This was definitely cause for a celebration cake. A bit of sneaky research revealed that creamy cakes are her favourite, so I set about making this strawberries and cream chocolate layer cake.

I used the same sponge recipe that I used for the chocolate gateau a while ago, but baked it in three layers as it rose out of the tin last time. I think this is definitely going to be my go-to recipe for chocolate layer cakes, it’s fudgey, chocolatey, and can hold the weight of several layers on top.

I spread each of the bottom two layers with melted strawberry jam, then piled on whipped cream with chopped strawberries mixed in. The top layer of the cake was decorated with a layer of chocolate ganache, halved strawberries arranged around the edge, and white chocolate writing.

We finished the cake with a few candles and took the it round to surprise Ivy. She loved it!

Strawberries and cream chocolate Ivy cake:

For the sponge

  • 250ml buttermilk
  • 125g plain chocolate
  • 125g butter or margarine
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time. Sieve the dry ingredients into the cake and fold until well combined. Beat in half of the buttermilk, then the melted chocolate and remaining buttermilk.

Divide the mixture between three 7″ tins (I only have two so I baked then in two goes, and weighed the mixture to make sure each tin had the same amount). Bake at 180 degrees on the middle shelf of the oven, for approximately 2 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the filling and decoration

  • 300g strawberries
  • 275ml double cream
  • 50g icing sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp strawberry jam
  • 75g dark chocolate
  • 25g white chocolate

Halve 8 of the strawberries for the decoration and set aside. Finely chop the rest. Whip the cream until soft peaks are starting to form, then stir in the icing sugar and chopped strawberries.

Melt the jam, then brush onto two of the sponge layers. Divide the cream mix between the two sponges, and sandwich together.

Place the dark chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling, then pour over the chocolate and stir until well mixed. Refrigerate until thick enough to spread, then spread onto the third cake layer to within 1cm of the edge. Arrange the halved strawberries around the edge of the cake, then leave in the fridge until the ganache is set.

Melt the white chocolate and transfer to a piping back for the writing. It’s easier to decorate the top before it goes on the cake, so once the writing is done add the third layer. Add candles and celebrations and enjoy!

Malteser birthday cake

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Last weekend was my lovely friend John’s birthday. He has been kind enough to say some very nice things about my cakes in the past, so I couldn’t let the occasion pass without baking something special.

When asked what type of cakes were his favourite, he said ‘sweet, not fruity’ so naturally I took that to mean chocolate.

I looked around a bit before settling on this chocolate malteser cake.

I decided to make it more birthday-ish I would double the icing so I could cover the whole thing as well as the inside and top, and arrange the maltesers in a more decorative pattern.

The sponge didn’t come out quite as well as I’d hoped, it wasn’t exactly dry but it wasn’t as moist or light as I would have liked either.

I don’t know if this is because I substituted the 3 medium eggs the recipe required for 2 duck eggs, but they had been given to me by one of the friendly pony’s colleagues and were too fresh and delicious not to use.

I also used less almonds and buttermilk than the recipe called for, purely because of the size packs they come so I wouldn’t have to waste any.

If I made it again I’d use a different sponge recipe, but the icing worked well and the birthday boy was happy, so overall it was a success.

Chocolate Malteser Birthday Cake

For the sponge:

  • 3 medium chicken eggs, or 2 duck eggs
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 60g cocoa powder
  • 150g plain flour
  • 150g ground almonds
  • 50g melted butter
  • 250ml buttermilk
  • 2 tsp baking powder
Whisk the eggs and sugar for 4 minutes or until they have trebled in size. Add in all the other ingredients and mix to combine. Split the mixture between 2 greased and lined 7″ round cake tins, and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Leave the cakes to cool while you make the icing.
For the icing (makes enough for the cake and 6 cupcakes):
  • 250g marscapone
  • 250g icing sugar
  • 60g cocoa powder
  • 1 large sharing pack maltesers
Beat the marscapone until smooth then gradually sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Add a little milk if the mixture it too thick to beat.
At this point I put the sponges, icing, maltesers and cake tools into a box (along with some cupcakes and ice packs), as the birthday celebrations were taking place 45 minutes away from my house and I wasn’t sure the cake would make the journey. Handily the pony’s parents live near by, so I borrowed their kitchen to assemble the cake.
To assemble, first chop the maltesers roughly in halves. I separated the neat looking ones to go on top and used the rest inside the cake and to decorate some cupcakes.
Spread a layer of icing on top of one of the sponges, then scatter chopped maltesers on top. Add the other sponge on top, then coat the top and sides with the rest of the icing. Leave in the fridge to cool for a while, then arrange the maltesers on top in a pretty pattern. Enjoy!

Baked raspberry cheesecake

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I have been massively slack in updating this blog recently, and have a huge backlog of things I’ve baked but not posted about yet. This cheesecake I actually made for my mum’s birthday on June 15th, over 2 weeks ago!

But, it was an awesome cheesecake, so better late than never.

If I had to pick one thing as my baking ‘speciality’, it would probably be cheesecake. I’ve been adapting one recipe for a couple of years and now have it down to an art, with WAY over-complicated cooking methods – but it is delicious.

My mum doesn’t like spongey cakes, so I knew for certain I would make her a cheesecake for her birthday (the big five-oh!) but it took me a while to decide on the flavour.

I was toying with the idea of a Lorraine Pascal white chocolate amaretto cheesecake, but instead decided to go for baked raspberry. I’ve made plenty before with raspberries on top, but never actually in the cheesecake mix, so I was excited to try something new.

I adapted the recipe from the BBC Good Food version, which had received rave reviews so I thought it was worth a go. Me and my mum both prefer a sponge base to a biscuit base though, so I made that the night before – making the whole cheesecake a 3 day effort…

Day 1

  • 60g butter
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 40g self raising flour
  • 25g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
Beat all the ingredients together in one go (as it isn’t particularly important for the cake to rise). Spread the mix into a 9″ round springform cake tin, lined with greaseproof paper, an bake for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees. Leave to cool for an hour or so, or overnight as I did.
Day 2
  • 600g cream cheese
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 142ml pot sour cream
  • 200g raspberries
Beat all the ingredients apart from the raspberries in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the raspberries then pour the mix on top of the cooled sponge base. Place on a high shelf in the oven, with a baking tray with 1cm boiling water on the shelf underneath. Bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 110 degrees and cook for a further hour and a half. After an hour and a half, turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in to cool, preferably overnight (this prevents cracking on top).
Day 3
  • 200g cream cheese
  • 100g white chocolate
  • icing sugar to taste
  • 15 raspberries
Melt the white chocolate over a low heat, then beat into the cream cheese. Sift in the icing sugar little by little until it reaches the right level of sweetness, then spread over the top of the cheesecake. Place the raspberries on top to decorate, then remove the whole thing from the tin. Serve and enjoy!
(Apologies for the hideous lighting, but the photos were rushed as my family were keen to eat!)

1,000 calorie chocolate caramel lion birthday cake

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This week was a special week.

It was the friendly pony’s birthday, and such a special day deserves a special cake.

Quite a while ago we saw a recipe on the BBC good food website for a chocolate caramel layer cake that had an obscene 1,000 calories per slice.

There’s almost nothing the pony likes more than big calories, but I insisted that I would only make such a big calorie cake for a special occasion…

The cake itself was actually quite easy to make and wouldn’t have taken too long – had I not decided that what would make it complete was a marzipan lion.

Having never made marzipan animals before I didn’t really know what to expect, but colouring it and moulding it was easy enough. The part that took me a good hour or more was making his mane, from individual thinly rolled pieces of marzipan…

I was happy with the finished lion though, even if he was a little on the chubby side.

I proudly placed him on top of 4 layers of vanilla, caramel, caramel-chocolate and chocolate sponge, sandwiched with caramel and coated in thick chocolate ganache (you can actually hear the calories if you read that sentence out loud).

The towering cake somehow managed to make a 25 minute car journey to the pony’s work, where everyone had a slice and seemed to enjoy it. One person actually asked if making cakes was my job, amazing!

The recipe I followed is here, and the only change I made was adding a little extra yoghurt to the chocolate layer as the mixture was a bit too thick after adding all the cocoa powder.

It really was an awesome cake, but unless you’re one of those hateful people who can eat and eat and never put on weight, I would definitely save it for a special occasion and only have a very small slice!

Chocolate Mocha Jo Cake

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Last weekend was my next door neighbour’s birthday. Until receiving the invite to her party, I’d thought she was in her late 20′s, so when I found out she was actually going to be 40, after the initial surprise I knew I had to make an AMAZING cake to celebrate.

She’s alergic to a few random things like oranges, so I decided to play it safe with a mocha cake, as I already knew she likes chocolate and coffee.

I dug out a recipe that my mum made for my birthday when I was about 12, and although I couldn’t really remember what it was like, I knew I’d liked it so i was sure it would work.

Unfortunately, when I took the cake out of the oven, it was literally as flat as a pancake (see measuring photo below!)

A celebration cake can’t be flat, so I made another, and made 1 & 3/4 times the original amount of icing.

The finished cake turned out huge – in fact it was still being eaten 4 days after the party – and Jo was super happy with it.

I made a white chocolate ganache with creme fraiche to decorate the cake, and originally tried piping the lettters and stars onto greaseproof paper and freezing it, but they just didn’t set hard enough, so I had to pipe free-hand.

Cake decorating isn’t my greatest skill, so I’m pretty happy with how it turned out!

I finished the cake by adding white chocolate stars all around the edge – a proper celebration cake!

 

 

Chocolate Mocha Jo Cake

Cake Ingredients (I doubled this to make 2 layers):

  • 175g butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 175g self raising flour
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 75ml condensed milk
  • 30ml Camp coffee essence
Beat together the butter and sugar then gradually add in the eggs. Sift in the flour and cocoa and gently mis in with the condensed milk and coffee essence. Bake in a 9″ greased and lined tin at 180 degrees for about half an hour, until a skewer comes out clean.
Icing Ingredients:
  • 175g plain chocolate
  • 90g butter
  • 2tbsp Camp coffee essence
  • 170g tin condensed milk
Melt all the ingredients together and stir until smooth. Leave to cool until thick enough to spread, then sandwich the two cakes together and spread the rest all over the top and sides.
Decorate with white chocolate ganache and white chocolate stars!

A very pink raspberry birthday cake

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I can’t quite remember what put the idea into my head, but a while ago I became a bit obsessed with making a bright pink icing for something. I put it on hold until I had a special occasion, as bright pink cakes aren’t just for a normal day hinnying around in a field, as I’m sure you can appreciate.

Then came around my lovely friend Charlotte’s birthday – I’m not allowed to disclose the age, and my horse years to human years conversions aren’t great anyway, but it was a special birthday, for which a special cake was most definitely required.

I’d already decided that the pinkness in the icing would come from raspberries, so I thought a plain victoria sponge would be best to complement it, sandwiched with raspberry jam.

I toyed with the idea of using jam to make the icing, but sweet jam + sweet sugar = super sickly, so decided to make a sort of thick raspberry syrup from frozen berries instead, so it would have a really concentrated flavour.

It was a little time consuming (especially compared to just throwing a dollop of jam in), but well worth it as the icing looked amazing.

Happy birthday Charlotte!

A very pink raspberry birthday cake

Ingredients:

  • 225g butter
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 225g self raising flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
For the filling and icing:
  • 4 tbsp raspberry jam
  • 150g frozen raspberries (plus a few to decorate)
  • 125g butter
  • 250g icing sugar
  • splash of milk
  • few squares dark chocolate, melted
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs then fold in the flour and baking powder. Divide between 2 7″ sandwich tins and bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.
To make the icing, heat the raspberries in a saucepan with a little water until they have broken down and become saucy. pass through a sieve, then return the liquid to the saucepan and boil down to a thick syrupy paste. Beat the butter until soft, then add in the raspberry syrup. Gradually sift in the icing sugar, adding in a splash of milk if it gets too thick.
To assemble, spread a generous layer of jam on top of one sponge then sandwich with the other. Spread a thin layer of the icing all over the outside of the cake then chill for half an hour, before covering with the remaining icing.
Melt the chocolate and pipe on to write the message, then place the raspberries around the edge of the cake (i used a little blob of extra icing to make sure they stuck).