i know, i know, you're sick of birthdays. BUT i have a lot of awesome people i'm close to born right around the same time, sooo... deal with it. haha. anyway, today is my roommate's birthday. things rachel loves: ice cream, ice cream cones, cupcakes, funfetti cake, and frosting. so this idea combines alllllll of those in one fantastically delightful (and super easy) birthday cake.
ingredients:
cake mix (i used funfetti cuz it's rachel's favorite)
frosting (again, i cheated and used the canned stuff--it took me 2 cans)
cake cones (flat-bottomed ice cream cones)
sprinkles or other decorations
steps:
this was sooo easy it's unbelievable. mix up your cake mix and spoon it into the cupcake lined muffin tins. then, place the ice cream cones upside-down on top of the batter (it's best if you smoosh them down just slightly into the batter so the cupcakes rise right into the cone) and bake them. then let them cool completely, and remove the cupcake liner from the top of the ice cream cone. frost and decorate! i was also surprised to find that these did not require a crumb coating, and i just dipped the frosted cupcakes into the sprinkles, however you can probably use crushed nuts, candies, and etc. get creative! so easy and so fun, and a delightfully innovative way to eat a cupcake. the only tricksy part is storing them, as they're somewhat top-heavy and gooey with frosting. i ended up cutting rounds in old shoe boxes to store them upright.
boy oh BOY have i been busy! i have several recipes to upload, and i will get to them all when i can, but for now, this is just another fun cake i did for my dad's 50th birthday! he absolutely loves trains, so with a little help from betty crocker, i made this masterpiece for his surprise birthday party. this cake fed around 20 people with leftovers, so it's definitely possible to halve the recipe and make it on a much smaller (aka not table-sized) scale for your train lover. delicious AND fun :o)
equipment:
2-4 loaf pans
serrated knife
glass of hot water
cookie sheets or cutting boards
frosting knife
candles (optional)
ingredients:
cake (i cheated and used 2 boxes of cake mix)
frosting (this bad boy took 1 can of chocolate and 3 of vanilla)
food coloring
round candies
steps:
because we were feeding so many, 2 batches of cake mix were necessary (many thanks to my mom for making the cakes!). these were mixed into 2 loaf pans per batch (4 total loaf pans) and frozen after they cooled and were removed from the loaf pans
after they were frozen thoroughly, each cake was removed from the freezer individually and the rounded top cut off using a serrated knife. *hint: this process becomes much easier if you dip the knife in hot water between each cut! flip the cakes over so the part that used to be the top (now flat after cutting the rounded part off) is facing the counter and becomes the bottom. this makes the cakes much more structurally stable.
first, i made the engine. this is its own loaf pan, and is the biggest piece you'll be working with. cut off the sides the long way of the cake so the cake is about 3 inches wide. then cut 2 of the corners off so the shape is now a really awkward hexagon. then, about 2 inches back from the back edge of those cuts, cut halfway down the height of the cake in 2 strips about 2 inches apart, the across the bottom of those 2 incisions to remove a piece half as thick as the cake itself. "glue" this piece back onto the cake with chocolate icing so the back lines up with the first incision you just made. confused yet? check out the diagram below for some visual help and much needed clarification.
the rest of the cakes are really easy--just quarter them. again, be sure to have the side that you cut the rounded top off become the bottom. these quartered pieces become the "cars." place them the long way behind the engine piece. i just placed my pieces on cookie sheets, but you could also do it on cutting boards or whatever you have that is big enough to support the whole train. regardless, it should be something that you can put in the freezer. after all your pieces are cut, place them onto whatever surface you're using (from here on out, i'll just say cookie sheets) in a train-like shape, meaning the engine followed by the cars in whatever arrangement suits your location best. once arranged, put them back in the freezer, as this makes your decorating job MUCH easier.
the hard part is over! phew! now comes the tedious stuff--decorating. i used all chocolate frosting on the engine and all vanilla on the cars. take your cookie sheets out of the freezer one at a time, and crumb coat your pieces. this means that you cover the pieces using frosting and a knife just to seal the crumbs of the cake in so that they don't affect your final decorating. freeze each cookie sheet again after each piece on it is crumb coated.
then comes the actual decorating. i did the engine all in chocolate, but each car i dyed a different color by mixing food coloring into the vanilla icing. after each car was frosted, i added wheels by using round candies. i piped spokes on to these with colored frosting, and connected them to the cars using plain frosting. add whatever other decorations you like to your cars--be creative and have fun! add candles if you want, but above all, enjoy :o)
hello! my name is kendra, and i am a recently married workaholic with never enough time or energy. one of the things i enjoy, however, is simple, fast, and inexpensive cooking. please feel free to comment on recipes or leave suggestions for existing or future recipes. thanks for visiting!
happy cooking :o)
