First birthday cake - advice

[Aaron]

I am going to bake a cake in the shape of the number 1 for a first birthday cake. I have already bought the mould, its silicone.

Now I want to make a sponge cake with buttercream frosting and then icing over the top.

The mould is 1.4L in volume, I can get measurements if needed.

I need advice on what recipe to use for this cake. Amount of ingredients needed for this shape of cake is confusing for me.

Can anyone help me with this please?

Thanks in advance,
Aaron.

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum Aaron! What kind of recipe are you looking for? It's best to find the recipe first, then scale it up for the amount required, so let us know what type of recipe you want.

 

[Aaron]

Thanks for the welcome

I found a recipe for a 8" cake tin - here - http://simplybeingmum.com/2012/04/17/making-it-a-simple-birthday-cake/

This is the one i would like to use.

 

[Becky]

Ok, so if that recipe does one 8inch (20cm) cake tin, and if I assume that it will be roughly 3cm high, then the volume is roughly 1l (volume of a cylinder is pi x radius squared x height). So you would want to do one-and-a-half times the recipe (ie 9 eggs etc). Have you tried the recipe before?

 

[Aaron]

1 and half times the recipe ok, hmmm not good at maths lol,

Haven't tried it no.

If you have suggestions please do.

 

[Becky]

Judging by the comments it has worked well for a number of people, so if I were you I'd give it a try

 

[Tina Nord]

The only recommendation I have is to make sure your cake is completely cooled before you frost it. I have had problems with buttercream melting in the past because the cake was not cooled and the frosting melted everywhere. Homemade cakes are always better because they come from the heart. I would much rather have a cake that someone made especially for me than a store bought cake any time!

 

[Aaron]

Thanks, can anyone help me out with calculating the ingredients by 1 and a half times?

Sorry im not good with maths

 

[Aaron]

Anyone help me with the calculation of the ingredients?

 

[Becky]

Here you are

525g (18oz) Margarine or Butter
525g (18oz) Caster Sugar (Superfine in US)
1.5 tablespoons (23ml) of Vanilla Extract
9 Medium Free Range Eggs
300g (10.5oz) Plain Flour (All Purpose Flour in US)
300g (10.5oz) Self Raising Flour

 

[Winterybella]

Thanks for the welcome

I found a recipe for a 8" cake tin - here - http://simplybeingmum.com/2012/04/17/making-it-a-simple-birthday-cake/

This is the one i would like to use.

Aaron, welcome to the forum. I knew I could not really help you but I wanted to say welcome and the at the same time steal whatever ideas and suggestions you were getting. I so want to try a sponge cake but I always get the impression it is not as simple as it appears. Go right ahead on the icing, I am not in that. Some time down the road when I am a better baker. In the end you helped yourself out and the others chipped in. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Aaron]

Thank you very much becky, that seems like a lot of butter and caster sugar haha. I hope this turns out ok, going to bake it before hand and try it out.

I will certainly let you all know how it turns out with a picture.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

 

[SimplyBeingMum]

Thank you very much becky, that seems like a lot of butter and caster sugar haha. I hope this turns out ok, going to bake it before hand and try it out.

I will certainly let you all know how it turns out with a picture.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

Hi Aaron - not sure if this helps but the cake tin I use for the recipe linked to above holds 1.5l of water when full. Now when I bake the cake it's probably 2/3rd full with the mixture - but I always lose the top as it does rise above the tin. To be on the safe side increase mixture by 50% (I would estimate) and then bake a few cupcakes on the side to use up any extra. Madeira isn't the best for cupcakes, but it'll save any waste. I have a better cupcake recipe. I'd love to see a photo of the finished cake! Good luck!
p.s on my recipe the oven times do vary for different ovens. My oven can take up to 90 mins as I deliberately slow down the baking process to reduce rise. But my friends gas oven bakes the same recipe in 45 mins. Jo

 

[Aaron]

Hi You are the owner of the recipe

Just finished mixing everything and I'm left with just under half the mix.

I'm using a silicone shaped number one, not a round tin. It's volume is 1.4l so I'm not sure why i'm left with just under half the cake mix.

She's in the oven now so will update as soon as it comes out.

I'm only seeing your message now simplybeingmum so I haven't added 50% extra to the ingredients.

Thanks for the help though.

Aaron.

 

[SimplyBeingMum]

Hi You are the owner of the recipe

Just finished mixing everything and I'm left with just under half the mix.

I'm using a silicone shaped number one, not a round tin. It's volume is 1.4l so I'm not sure why i'm left with just under half the cake mix.

She's in the oven now so will update as soon as it comes out.

I'm only seeing your message now simplybeingmum so I haven't added 50% extra to the ingredients.

Thanks for the help though.

Aaron.

Hmmm not sure why you have mixture left over - my tin is 1.5L. Anyhow see how it goes. I just typed a full reply over at my blog also to you, but the comments section was changed yesterday and I cant get it to work duh! I'd added in that you were baking with silicone - take care on the edges, they can burn and crust a little. But as with most things practise makes perfect Good Luck! (make sure you test you cake after 45mins at the deepest part!)

 

[Aaron]

Thanks for that, yea strange that i was left with that much mix. I followed the ingredients down to a tee.

Yea I hope it will be good, I have the temp at 160 electric fan oven.

Will update soon.

 

[Aaron]

It has risen quite a lot in the middle and split at the top, The spilt has caused it not to be cooked completely at the top, so i just put it back in for another 15 mins.

 

[cakeycakey]

Test for doneness by piercing it with a skewer or toothpick. If the skewer comes out clean the cake should be done. If it comes out with batter or lots of crumbs on it, the cake still needs a few minutes. Normally if a cake has split at the top that means it's done. Baking at a slightly lower temperature can help prevent the cake from developing cracks along the top because it keeps the batter from rising too fast.

 

[Aaron]

Its black all over. the silicone doesn't seem to work too well. Do i cook it at 100 instead of 160 and increase the time.

If all else fails I can cook it in a round tin instead.

 

[SimplyBeingMum]

Its black all over. the silicone doesn't seem to work too well. Do i cook it at 100 instead of 160 and increase the time.

If all else fails I can cook it in a round tin instead.

Silicone can be difficult I find - I also do not like the smell while the cake is baking in silicone. The mixture seems to go toward the centre and away from the sides - hence the comment about burning. And I have only ever baked in small sized silicone - approx half the volume of the recipe I use - this works okay as only in the oven about 30 mins usually. When I bake in a round tin now I cover the outside with paper also to reduce burning - there are other tips also including freezing the paper (or old tea-towels) etc but I won't go into that now - its to make the bake more even thus reducing the rise.
It might be a redundant reply now but after I typed last reply I realised I'd misinterpreted your original question. If you are baking in a 1.4L pan and my recipe is for one that holds 1.5L then you should not need any additional mixture to my recipe - as you will not completely fill your pan. I'd read it as you needing 1.4L of mixture - sorry!
p.s - Just a suggestion but I do not use shaped pans usually - you could bake in a square (or a round - but you'll have more waste) and then carve the cake to get the number 1 - as you are frosting (buttercream?) then it will cover any cracks anyhow -its harder with fondant icing as needs to be smooth.
p.p.s - sometimes the simpler the better - bake a round and put a large 1 on the top out of icing. Just the fact you are baking the cake yourself makes it a special cake.
Good Luck!