Any bakers out there able to suggest cake for 2nd birthday?

LisaW
LisaW Bots Posts: 37
edited 20. Jun 2014, 07:16 in Community Chit-chat archive
My darling niece is turning two next month. I have been tasked with.... (drum roll, please) baking The Birthday Cake. I am a good cook but no baker:s

I have looked up a few recipes but none of them have appealed to me or what I know DN's mum wants. This will be DN's first taste of chocolate. This cake has to be transportable and DN loves animals.

Any ideas would be welcomed!

Comments

  • krisbe
    krisbe Member Posts: 95
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    just buy a catterpillar cake in Tesco!
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Seeing as how your DN will be two I don't think her critical judgement will be involved; her mother's, however . . . . well that's a very different prospect. :wink:

    If it's going to be her first taste of chocolate then find a lovely, gooey choccy cake recipe which is guaranteed to make her feel poorly but might please her mum (I have one somewhere which was dead easy to do and gorgeously rich). Alternatively I would go for a basic home-made sponge, sandwiched and covered in butter icing. Practise your best pink-piped Peppa Pig (I presume she likes Peppa?) which you can then adorn with edible sparkles. If you can't pipe a Peppa (or whatever) then cut out said shape in rice paper and adorn etc. etc. etc. What I would not do is buy a ready-made one; her mum could do that and isn't choosing that option because the burden's been placed on you. :wink: DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • tkachev
    tkachev Member Posts: 8,332
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I'm being ambitous here;
    If she likes animals what about a Noah's Ark cake? Are you any good at making marzipan animals? A nice big chocolate boat as base a square bit on top with' a roof and a door in the side' and animals leading into the ark or buy some wooden ones which she can play with afterwards.

    If Mum objects to the theme you could do a farm or a zoo.

    Finally sweets on top of a cake are very popular and as she is only 2 she'll be happy with a smattering of smarties, chocolate buttons or maltesers.

    Elizabeth
    Never be bullied into silence.
    Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
    Accept no ones definition of your life

    Define yourself........

    Harvey Fierstein
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    You are indeed being ambitious, Elizabeth, but what a wonderful idea for someone with more talent and patience than I have :) Children do tend to love animals.

    I think it's right that you should make one rather than bu y one, if you've been asked to do so, but I'm minded that small children do love the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and such a cake shouldn't be too difficult to make ie bake it, cut it into rounds and paste them together with the filling of your choice prior to covering in it in icing sugar and hiding any mistakes :lol:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • frogmella
    frogmella Member Posts: 1,111
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I made a chocolate owl cake once. It wasn't too hard - made two cakes in pudding bowls and sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream. Then coated in more chocolate buttercream, made a face using minstrels for eyes and half a brazil nut for nose and then used millions of flake fragments as the feathers. Looked really impressive even though I have no artistic skill whatsoever! I could look out the recipe complete with its diagrams and pictures and scan them for you if you want?
  • Megrose489
    Megrose489 Member Posts: 784
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I remember making a really easy hedgehog cake many years ago. Similar method to your owl cake, frogmella. Sponge made in two pudding bowls, joined together with chocolate butter icing, then all covered in chocolate butter icing and the face shaped to a point with eyes (can't remember what I used for them). The icing was forked and then covered in chocolate button spikes. Very effective.
  • jen9432
    jen9432 Bots Posts: 37
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Here's another idea, make a bunny rabbit. Real easy to make two circles and a square. Two circles are the body and cut up the square for the head, ears and tail. Some nice icing, I made chocolate and vanilla and used them to decorate the bunny. My two year old loved it, until it came time to eat it :shock: . It's hard to explain that to a two year old, however, we did and she loved the cake. I am a health nut, so I made mine with real cocoa, less sugar, less fat and no strange additives. I used apple sauce for the liquid also. Good Luck.
  • LisaW
    LisaW Bots Posts: 37
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Super suggestions, thanks! Feeling very inspired and think I will have a trial baking session next weekend. Yes, a simple sponge covered in an undecided flavoured butter icing will make the best cake. I guess it really is all about getting the decorating right. Hadn't even considered using marzipan as I have never used it before. May become a very essential ingredient! I know DH will be more than happy to be the official taster:)

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