Question by Stardust: Simple cake decorating ideas for a 10 year old boy’s birthday?
The cake is a rectangle cake and I want it to be very unusuall but not to hard to decorate. He likes ALOT of frosting on his cake. So any ideas of how to decorate it? Pretty and simple? I was thinking of an ocean cake or mountain cake. But mybe yiou have a better idea. If anybody has any pictures please post them. Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by Brandy P
my brothers grooms cake had 4 wheelers stuck in the mud rock climbing, etc. my mom just got toy 4 wheelers and i think the rocks were extra frosting with food color. it was really cute.
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Deep Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups milk
12 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces (2 cups)
1/2 cup butter
8 ounces dairy sour cream
4-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (about 1 pound)
Chocolate curls (optional)
Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting *
Fresh raspberries (optional)**
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Directions
Grease three 9-inch round baking pans, three 8X8X2-inch square baking pans; lightly dust each pan with 1 teaspoon of the cocoa powder. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.
Beat in chocolate and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to chocolate mixture, beating on low speed until well mixed. (Batter will be thick.)
Divide batter among prepared pans; spread evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
Make chocolate curls, if using. Arrange curls in an even layer on a waxed paper-lined tray and set aside in a cool, dry place. To assemble cake, spread Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting on tops of two of the layers; stack. Add top layer; frost the top and sides of the cake. If desired, while frosting is still moist, use a 4- to 6-inch wooden skewer or tweezers to lightly press chocolate curls into frosting around the bottom two-thirds of the cake. If desired, garnish top with raspberries and mint. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting: In a large saucepan melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. This frosts tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.
Chocolate-Mint Sour Cream Frosting: Prepare as above except stir in 1/2 teaspoon mint extract with the sour cream. Makes about 4-1/2 cups.
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Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups milk
Directions
Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease bottoms of two 8x8x2-inch square or 9×1-1/2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper. Grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of pans. Or, grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set pan(s) aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder; and salt; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined (3 to 4 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla.
Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition. Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more. Spread batter into the prepared pan(s).
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes for 8-inch pans and 13x9x2-inch pan, 30 to 35 minutes for 9-inch pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans. Peel off waxed paper. Cool thoroughly on racks. Or, place 13x9x2-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with desired frosting.
Makes 12 to 16 servings
Devil’s Food Cake: Prepare as above, except omit baking powder and increase baking soda to 1-1/4 teaspoons.
For chocolate cupcakes: To make cupcakes, grease and lightly flour thirty 2-1/2-inch muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. Prepare cake as directed in Step 2. Fill each cup half full. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 30 cupcakes.
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BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk
With an electric mixed whip butter until creamy; add powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Combine until well mixed. Add milk by the tablespoonful until desired constancy is reached.
For chocolate:
Melt 2 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate and add to the sugar butter mixture before adding milk. Then add milk by the tablespoonful until desired constancy is reached.
By using lemon juice you eliminate the need for salt and it also cuts down on the sweetness of the frosting – I have been doing it this way for years and everybody loves my frosting.
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MILE-HIGH CHOCOLATE CAKE
Ingredients
For cake
5 ounces fine-quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups sour cream
For frosting
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 ounces fine-quality unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
6 sticks (1 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Equipment: 2 (8- by 2-inch) round cake pans
Preparation
Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter cake pans, then line bottom of each with a round of parchment paper and butter parchment. Flour pans, knocking out excess.
Melt chocolate with butter, then cool.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Beat eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. At low speed, mix in melted chocolate until incorporated, then add flour mixture in 3 batches alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until each addition is just incorporated. Spread batter evenly in pans and rap pans several times on counter to eliminate air bubbles.
Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans and a wooden pick inserted in center of each comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.
Cool in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edges of pans. Invert onto racks and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.
Make frosting and assemble cake:
Whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add milk and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture boils and is smooth and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature, covering surface with parchment paper to prevent a skin from forming.
Beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy, then add cooled chocolate mixture a little at a time, beating until frosting is fluffy and spreadable.
Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers with a long serrated knife. Put 1 layer on a cake stand or large plate and spread top with 1 1/4 cups frosting. Repeat with 2 more layers, then add remaining layer and spread top and side of cake with remaining frosting.
Cooks’ notes:
• Cake layers can be made 2 days ahead (but not split horizontally) and kept, wrapped tightly, at room temperature.
• Frosting can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature (about 1 hour) and beat until fluffy before using.
• Cake can be frosted 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
Spiderman. Frost the cake with a dark red or chocolate frosting a draw a web on the cake using white frosting tubes. Buy some spiderman figuerines and place them on the cake.
Does the have an MP3 player or an Ipod? Decorate the cake to look like it. Just tint the frosting the color of the player, use frosting for the screen. Print Happy Birthday on the screen with frosting. use black licorice strings to attach the ear buds (gum drops).
Decorate it like a candy land board game. Fill it full of candy. Use unwrapped starburst for the “steps”; use gumdrops; mini candy canes, skittles, mini cupcakes to decorate the cake. I think that I saw the recipe for this cake on the Taste of Home website.
You might also try the kraftfoods.com website. They have several easy cake decorating ideas.