Dora Cake - Cake & Icing Question

DD1 is not having a birthday party this year but we will do dinner at the IL's on her birthday like we do every year.
I thought i would have a go at making her a Dora cake using some of her Dora figurines.

I don't want to use a packet mix so has someone got a nice easy cake & icing recipe they could suggest?

Cake - i was thinking maybe a choc mud cake or similar, something that will hold icing and figurines without risk of sagging ?
I have a high walled square cake tin i would be using so get a little more rise/balance out of the cake ???

Icing - i don't know if it's better to do fondant so i can get a flat covering, i was thinking of doing it green (grass) maybe attempting to make (or buying) some flowers, then possibly making some blue jelly to put as a little 'lake' and have Dora and some of her friends, some fake trees etc?

What do you think, who can help me?

I made DD a Dora cake (it's on my FB feed if you wanna look) I just used a butter cake and butter cream icing. The figures sat up fine but they were duplo figures so not much weight in them

Aww thats so cute, i'd have to buy myself a new piping bag ;)
Hmmmm so much to think about, i'm interested in giving fondant a go but i'm not sure how hard it is.
Icing has always been my downfall but i'd like to give it a try... SIL found these cool deco's that were ROCKS but they were chocolate, i was thinking i could put the rocks as a edge for the jelly lake but the cake wont be very big so maybe thats a little ambitious?

fondant is a lot easier than you think, I made Lucy a dora cake for her birthday and it turned out really well. Watch videos on youtube thats how I learnt ;)

I can come and help you, crazy woman! I have a brand new icing kit ready to be tried out. I second buttercream icing, you can do so much with it. For DD's 1st birthday, I did a In The Night Garden Cake. I wanted it pink, but I had green tufts of "grass" all over it to represent the garden. Let me know if you want me to come and give you a hand :)

Hmmmmm that could be a good idea PRMG - is M's ITNG cake on FB?
I was planning on possibly going to the play centre the week of her birthday, maybe i could do it the day before then we could come back here? :rofl:

Yep, it's in the cupcakes album. And the best part about buttercream is that you can make it in advance and freeze it. I've used marshmellow fondant too - have a look at the number 2 cupcakes - they're not perfect but it was my first shot at it. Most of the photos in that album are buttercream.

Happy to fit in with you, we can come for a visit after playing in Oct.

Mmm Mmm Mmm i sooo shouldn't have looked, reminds me that i wanted to do cupcake lessons with you :)
The 2 ones look cool.

Hmm maybe i should be a good mummy and try and do the buttercream 1 by myself.. decisions, decisions. :rofl:

I just used the disposible piping bags ZF they are in the cooking aisle and have the attachments. :) (Cake would have been better if I wasnt so sick when I was making it. LOL would have put more effort in)

I think i might make it the night before her birthday after she's gone to bed, if i'm making it from scratch i might even just make a little bit extra and do some cupcakes for her for a cake the morning OF her birthday.
Normally i rush the icing because the girls are trying to eat it or put their fingers in it :)

I think i will just leave the jelly off, find a recipe for a nice buttercake or bananacake or something and do buttercream icing.
What food coloring do you ladies use for your icing, the liquid stuff or do you buy the powder, if the powder where do i find it?
Haven't made cupcakes in a while either so might have to do a test run... PRMG would you mind sharing a cupcake recipe with me?

Warning, thread hijack to follow...!!!

Pac - can I book you in for some cake help in Feb, May and then July? :D

I'm pretty hopeless with cakes but I so want to get better at it and be one of those mums that makes awesome cakes for their kidlets!!!

ZF do you have the WW's kids cake book? They have excellent basic recipes that work everytime and are super easy! They make great cupcakes too.
Depending on the colour needed I tend to stick to the bottled colouring as I have to make a trip for the powder. Really red and black are the only times I have needed powder as they are hard to get the intensity otherwise ITMS. I love birthday cakes!!!

No i don't have the WW's cake book, i've always wanted to get it though :)

Choc cake

1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup cocoa
125g softened butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
2 eggs
2/3cup water

Preheat oven to moderate. Grease/line pans. Sift dry ingredients and then add rest - beat on low until combined then increase speed to medium for ~ 3mins until mix is smooth and lighter in colour. Bake in moderate ovenb until cooked - cool in pan for 5mins then turn onto rack.

Butter cream
125g softenedbutter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons of milk

Beat butter in bowl until as white as possible - gradually add half icing sugar and milk. add rest of icing sugar and flavour and colour as required. (Add 1/3 cup cocoa with icing sugar for choc).

Ohhh thanks hun, i could probably even do the green grass icing as a mint flavor :)
I set aside a boots, dora & swiper toy this morning so i know where they are :)

ZF - I'll bring my cupcake book tomorrow for you to have a peek at. If there's anything there you like, I can copy the recipe.

OP - I can help anytime. I'm no pro, but I love baking :)

ZF, do you want the mud cake recipe we used for e's birthday cake?

buttercream icing is easy to make and work with
fondant - wasn't so much a fan - but i had a "helper" driving me bonkers at the same time
ganache is pretty damn easy too

my main suggestion is, if you want strong colors, get good quality colors - not the watery ones from the supermarket.

Oh Oh that recipe would be great BG - i was wondering if anyone things a JAFFA cake would taste ok with butter icing?
Am looking at some recipes and thinking of doing a test cake this week.. just for something different, does anyone have a jaffa cake recipe?

chocolate cake with a couple of drops of orange essence? use orange essence instead of vanilla in the buttercream icing??

pm me your email addy hun - don't have it on this puter

actually, if you google "white wedding mud cake" it's the first one that comes up (womans day one)

Ohhh i will google that cake, would this work do you think.... with butter icing ??
Jaffa Marble Cake recipe - Best Recipes

So with yours hun would i swap the white choc for normal choc and the vanilla for orange essence and then just do a butter icing?
Is it an ''EASY' recipe or will it take me a bit to work it out? I will be using a square tin, high sided as every time i use the low side tin the cake rises too much in the middle.

Eeek going to do a test run this week then make it again next week, might be having dinner here now with DP's family & my mum and brothers... eeekkkk

Wish me luck everyone, am attempting BG's mud cake recipe and turning it into a JAFFA MUD CAKE... eeeeeek
Oh 1 question though i actually happened to get 'salted butter' instead of unsalted, does that matter - the recipe just calls for butter.
I might have some unsalted in the freezer if needed ??

ETA: no unslated in the freezer so instead of risking it am driving into town to buy some butter for the butter icing and the cake ;)

OMG CAKE IS IN THE OVEN.... i hope it turns out OK... Argh :wall:

Ok so the cake is out, it cooked for over 2hrs, when a skewer went in it comes out clean and the top was starting to crust over a bit.
Let it sit for 10min in the tin, turned it out (came out easy) then DD1 pulled on the side and 1 whole side split and the base cracked :(so was it over cooked, undercooked or just bad luck?
Going to let it cool, ice it and then pop it in the fridge til DP gets home then have a taste test.. smells ok.
Hmmmm how do i stop it splitting/cracking so next week i can ice it properly.

PICS HERE - doesn't look right AT ALL :(

possibly a little over cooked hun - what's it like in the middle?

Seems cooked, maybe I should do oven at 150 and cook for same time next week? Taste test when do gets home.
A stuffed the icing though by helping herself and putting it on the warm
Cake while I was out if the room :( needless to say it melted & looks fowl!


Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!

oh dear!

Looks a little overcooked, but I'm sure it still tastes scrumptious. Enjoy munching on it :D

So if i maybe put the oven on say 150 or 140 with the fan on and cook it for 2hrs do you think it would be better?
Will do the taste test later and the icing WILL NOT be going on while Ava is awake next week... :wall: :wall: :wall:

I'd tend to go shy of the time it says to cook it. I'd keep it on the same temp and when it gets close to the time it's supposed to be ready, start checking it. If the top cracks, you can always flip it, but it doesn't matter so much if you're going to ice it.

How was it to taste though? Was it dry or was it okay? If it tasted okay, I wouldn't fiddle with it too much. Sorry, probably stating the obvious...I'm bloody tired.

Looking at it now it's cooling a bit it looks a little dry for a mud cake, i prob could have taken it out say 10-20min earlier, the skewer was coming out clean but the top still looked a bit soft... maybe it's meant to be like that and it goes a little more solid as it cools?
Should have just taken you up on your offer ;) oh well as long as next weeks turns out ok.. if not might have a packet mix on hand JIC :)
NOt that she's having a party but still, her cakes the years before have been STUNNING and now mums effort SUCKS :rofl:

hey - that's why you do a trial run :) and i bet the cake still tastes yummy!

mud cakes are often a little gooey in the middle - not uncooked, just fairly moist - itms? so maybe 10mins earlier might have just done the trick? nothing a bit of icing/cream won't fix though :lol:

Oh yeah, what Sloane said -- any cracks, just fill it with ganache or icing :D

Thanks ladies, should have just gone with my gut and taken it out earlier ;)
Oh well fingers crossed for next weeks attempt.. :rofl:

TAKE II TODAY.
A friend is making me some fondant, so i will cook the cake today, allow it to cool properly and then decorate it when DD1 goes to bed.
We are also cheating and making a packet mix of cupcakes for her b'day breakfast tomorrow with my dad who wont be here tomorrow night.
The cupcakes are going to be 'worm'cupcakes, am going to put a drop of green in the icing and then crumble a bit of flake on the top then have a grub coming out of it ;)
DP mentioned a worm cake last week and she's wanted a 'worm cake' ever since so this is our compromise.

I traced out the base of the cake and worked out where i ant to put her figurnines etc on the cake, so having green fondant, blue sprinkles to make a river, got a little bridge, dora carrying a picnic basket, boots waiting for her and swiper hiding behind a tree.

Then i will write her name with those pen things and put a #3 candle on it.. what do you think?

NO idea whats going on ladies but it cracked again, i managed to get it onto the cooling rack without half of it splitting but the top had cracked and 1 crack has run down to the base.
Cake is now in the fridge and hopefully it kinds nof sets a little harder so when i ice it tonight it doesn't just split open again :(
NO idea why, was on the right temp and cooked it ledd but it was splitting before the middle was even cooked.

Am using fondant a friend made so hopefully i can drape it over the cake and we wont even notice... SHATTERED i should have just stuck to a packet mix.

i bet it will still taste FAR better than a packet mix though :)

and the fondant will cover anything up. i'm so looking forward to seeing some pics on fb. i reckon it's going to look awesome!

How you're decorating it sounds great! Try not to worry that it cracked, mud cake does it at the best of times (well, I'm no expert but I always have cracked mud cakes!). The fondant will cover it and it will look sensational. Well done :)

The last one tasted awesome anyway!!! I bet it will turn out great, chicky. I want to see pics!

Thx ladies, hopefully it looks ok, think it will taste ok. It smelt great!


Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!