First Time Baking A Cake

Decorating By nise01 Updated 18 Jan 2006 , 11:12pm by melony1976

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nise01 Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 4:52pm
post #1 of 20

Hi I am new at this whole baking thing. My son's birthday is coming up and we are creating a Knight's theme party. We want to have a castle cake, but have only found one location that is able to make it but gets pricey. So I am wanting to try to make it myself. Now I have no idea were to start, should I buy the box cakes , how do I layered , what to use for decoration. I have attached a picture of what I liked. Any suggestions will help. Thanks
LL

19 replies
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tye Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 5:06pm
post #2 of 20

wow.. thats a pretty big cake to try for the first time... i'd suggest reading the articles on this site first.. i believe there are a few that go over layering... looks like this cake is a 10" squares with 6" rounds on top... not sure about the four corners.. maybe soup cans.. the triangles on top are ice cream cones covered in frosting.

good luck

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alracntna Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 5:08pm
post #3 of 20

first if you are comfortable using the box cakes than do that but if you think you are ready to try a scratch cake than you should do that. most important thing about layering and stacking cakes is dowels and boards. looks like a 8" round ontop of a 10 or 12" square you need dowels and boards under that 8". I am probably just confusing you and I am sure someone else could explain it better but this seems like a fairly easy cake and I know you will do great. Just stay calm and dont let your self get overwhelmed. by the way if you didnt know the tops of the castle are done in Ice cream cones icon_wink.gif

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justsweet Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 5:11pm
post #4 of 20

Welcome,

Here is a link to show you how to start; layer the cake, etc.

It will take practice, practice, practice. Your son will so happy with the cake you give him. You just change the colors to want you want and the kinda of decorations you would like to add.

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_cinderella/

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/cookingschool_castlecake_09282002.xml

http://members.nuvox.net/~zt.proicer/cakepict/castle-famfun-2.htm

Here is a frosting I use.

2 lbs poweder sugar - sifted

3 cups of shortening

1/4 water

2 tsp clear flavoring - vanilla, almond (tsp of each is really good)
you can find these at michaels craft store.

blend together and more water if too stiff. When icing the cake first do a crumb coat to seal the cake. It will look awful but you will benefit in the long run. Let cake sit for about 15 mins. to let it crust.

Crumb coat should be the same color as your main frosting color. You want the frosting to be smooth, easy to spread. So you may need to add a little more water to the frosting.

Put the finally coat on the cake. Try to get as smooth as you can, let the the cake sit for about 20 mins or so, you want it to get a crusting. No to make it look really smooth. Take a VIVA paper towel, put it a section of the cake and use your hand to smooth it (use little press from your hand), then move to another section, ect. This takes some practice but you will be happy with results. If you can not find viva towels use a paper towel with out a pattern to smooth cake.

If you have any other questions put it here everyone will be helpful to help you out.

Good luck and practice.

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JamesSweetie Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 5:15pm
post #5 of 20

Tye you took the words right out of my mouth..er fingers, lol icon_biggrin.gif I agree the corners look like they were baked in apple or tomato juice cans.

You may have to using dowels to support the double 6" cake on top of the square. Depending on the weight of the cake, having that set on top could make the square collapse. Many people on here use the cake mixes, but add other ingredients to them so that the cake is more dense, and thus holds up a little better (pure cake mixes can be light and fall apart easy...at least in my experience). If you look in the recipe section of the forum there is a lot of recipes for these(it will be under Cake mix Extender). How many people would the cake need to feed? You may be able to scale down the size, since that is a fair sized cake.

The fencing on the outside looks to be colour flow (made of royal icing that has been piped into shapes on waxed paper, and then filled in with thinned royal icing and allowed to dry).

The drawbridge part seems to be thick black licorice, not sure about what the door is made of, though it too could be made of colour flow.

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SquirrellyCakes Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 5:39pm
post #6 of 20

From the posts I have been reading, for the corners, most people are just covering soup or tomato juice cans with plastic and icing them, mainly because they are more stable and they don't need that much cake. Also, several people are using styrofoam dummies for the base, covering it with icing or fondant and just part of the cake is actually cake.
The tin cans are a good idea, be sure to weight them down with dried beans or peas or something like that.
Impression mats are normally used to get a stone look. There are other ways of doing it, this is just the easiest way.
Hugs Squirrelly

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NEWTODECORATING Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 5:50pm
post #7 of 20

That cake was done by a CC member. I recognized it so quickly because I really like that cake for a little boy.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=search&search=castle&cat=0&pos=107&search=castle

You might want to read the discription and comments. They will give you a few clues about how to go about this. You maybe will also want to PM the origional creator and ask a few questions. I find most of the folks on CC to be very generous

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nise01 Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 6:27pm
post #8 of 20

Thank you for your replies! I really appreciate it. I will make one just for practice, and will let you know. Thank you again. icon_smile.gif

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Sonya Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 9:29pm
post #9 of 20

Leana the icing recipe you use:

2 lbs poweder sugar - sifted
3 cups of shortening
1/4 water
2 tsp clear flavoring - vanilla, almond (tsp of each is really good)

approx. how many cups of icing does that make? I want to try that recipe
icon_biggrin.gif

~Sonya

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mistygaildunn Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 9:43pm
post #10 of 20

It looks to me as if the door is made from tootsie rolls and I think that you could get the stone look from a decorated paper towel once your icing dries. The flags are most likely royal icing, which is really fun, but aggrevating at times to work with. It will be a nice experience for you. Just watch it, ya may get hooked!

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Cakeman66 Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 9:49pm
post #11 of 20

I agree that it's kind of an ambitious project to take on, if you've never done one before. Especially just to save money. Quality like that could demand a decent amount of money. How much was someone wanting to charge you to make it? (If I may ask)

IF you have no experience or not enough in your opinion to make something like this, then I'd suggest an edible image or a castle, or a transfer.

How much time do you have before the party?

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SquirrellyCakes Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 9:51pm
post #12 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by mistygaildunn

It looks to me as if the door is made from tootsie rolls and I think that you could get the stone look from a decorated paper towel once your icing dries. The flags are most likely royal icing, which is really fun, but aggrevating at times to work with. It will be a nice experience for you. Just watch it, ya may get hooked!



Flags are really easy to make using a toothpick and fondant icing! Just cut a triangle and using royal glue - one teaspoon of water to one teaspoon of meringue powder, brush a small amount on a toothpick or wooden shiskabob skewer that you have trimmed down. Wrap one edge of the fondant around the toothpick. Make a bit of a ripple or crease in the fondant and allow to dry like that.
Hugs Squirrelly

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chefdot Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 9:54pm
post #13 of 20

Sonya!
You said in your recipe 3 cups of shortening... that seems like too much... I only use 1 1/4 cup of shortening using everything else you mentioned and it's perfect!

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Sonya Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 10:49pm
post #14 of 20

Hi Chefdot! Leana stated in a few post before my original post she used 3 cups of shortening.... If you use 1/1-4 cups shortneing how many cups of icing would that recipe make? I am trying to figure out how much icing I would need to make up for a cake due in April. Thanks for the help!

~Sonya icon_biggrin.gif

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chefdot Posted 17 Jan 2006 , 11:32pm
post #15 of 20

It just seems with that much shortening it would leave that filmy taste in your mouth since I use the same amount of powdered sugar. I use:

1 1/4 Cups of shortening
2 lb. bag of powdered sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water (eyeball it)
popcorn salt (i eye ball this, i don't remember the exact measurement and the popcorn salt is good cuz it's a finer grain)
flavoring

I have never measured to see how many cups it would make, but for that castle cake I would personally make either 2 or 3 batches. Probably 3 just to be safe, plus you could always save whatever's left.
Hope that helps. icon_smile.gif

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SquirrellyCakes Posted 18 Jan 2006 , 3:28am
post #16 of 20

Well, most recipes are about 1 cup shortening or combination shortening and butter to 4-5 cups of powdered sugar, with there being about 4 cups of powdered sugar by dry measure in a pound by weight.
The Whimsical Bakehouse Buttercream uses 6 cups of powdered sugar which would be about 1 1/2 pounds by weight to 2 3/4 cup high ratio shortening or regular vegetable shortening.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

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melony1976 Posted 18 Jan 2006 , 8:54pm
post #17 of 20

Good luck on your sons cake. I applaud you for not being afraid to try the cake. I'm still affraid to try a tierd cake. icon_biggrin.gif

As for the 3 cups of crisco I agree, it does seem like too much. I used to use 1 3/4 cups but i felt i was getting that icky filmmy taste so I cut back to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2. Very yummy this way.

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SquirrellyCakes Posted 18 Jan 2006 , 9:57pm
post #18 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by melony1976

Good luck on your sons cake. I applaud you for not being afraid to try the cake. I'm still affraid to try a tierd cake. icon_biggrin.gif

As for the 3 cups of crisco I agree, it does seem like too much. I used to use 1 3/4 cups but i felt i was getting that icky filmmy taste so I cut back to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2. Very yummy this way.




Regarding a tiered cake, you can do it kiddo! Start small, an eight inch and a 6 or 4 inch diameter. If you can stack two you can handle three, but with small ones you will feel better to start out.
Just make sure you level your cakes really well. Then make sure your base can handle the weight, say two or three minimum corrugated cardboard circles stuck together, a cake drum or something like that for the bottom. Another cardboard circle for the top cake, two if it is heavy. Dowels, well for this size, even straws. Always cut the dowels the same size. I also make sure the bottom of the upper boarded cakes have a circle of parchment underneath them. I sprinkle powdered sugar where the upper tier will fit on the lower one, once the icing is set. The parchment stops the cake from sticking to the lower tier's icing.
If the cake is going to be moved after it is stacked, use a centre dowel, it really is easy to do, you just sharpen one end and take a mallet and poke it through the centre.
I know you can do it kiddo!
Hugs Squirrelly

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lalalady Posted 18 Jan 2006 , 10:12pm
post #19 of 20

icon_biggrin.gif Hello, you could use swiss rolls or I think you call them jelly rolls of different thickness for the towers on the sides and thinner ones for the top towers topped off with ice cream cones on the top. The drawer bridge could be made of chocolate fingers joined together with chocolate buttercream and the black fencing could be made of coloured fondant left to dry around the outside of a larger cake tin to keep its shape. When dry stick into place with royal icing or buttercream. Hope my ideas help.

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melony1976 Posted 18 Jan 2006 , 11:12pm
post #20 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquirrellyCakes

Quote:
Originally Posted by melony1976

Good luck on your sons cake. I applaud you for not being afraid to try the cake. I'm still affraid to try a tierd cake. icon_biggrin.gif

As for the 3 cups of crisco I agree, it does seem like too much. I used to use 1 3/4 cups but i felt i was getting that icky filmmy taste so I cut back to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2. Very yummy this way.



Regarding a tiered cake, you can do it kiddo! Start small, an eight inch and a 6 or 4 inch diameter. If you can stack two you can handle three, but with small ones you will feel better to start out.
Just make sure you level your cakes really well. Then make sure your base can handle the weight, say two or three minimum corrugated cardboard circles stuck together, a cake drum or something like that for the bottom. Another cardboard circle for the top cake, two if it is heavy. Dowels, well for this size, even straws. Always cut the dowels the same size. I also make sure the bottom of the upper boarded cakes have a circle of parchment underneath them. I sprinkle powdered sugar where the upper tier will fit on the lower one, once the icing is set. The parchment stops the cake from sticking to the lower tier's icing.
If the cake is going to be moved after it is stacked, use a centre dowel, it really is easy to do, you just sharpen one end and take a mallet and poke it through the centre.
I know you can do it kiddo!
Hugs Squirrelly




This is why I love it here. This type of encourgement that you can only get from others that share your love for decorating. thanks for the tips and support. When I finally do one you better know that I'm going to be on here asking for all sorts of help icon_biggrin.gif

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