This is not a full recipe kind of post. It’s more about a fun day working in the kitchen and creating a beautiful cake. There are three cakes baked a day before the actual party. This is important. The other option is to go into a catatonic mess as time runs out.
Color all three cakes with colors of your choice. I baked eggless cakes with orange, brown and pink.
The cakes must be fully cooled before you move them around. Hot cakes will continue steaming and mess up the cream and ganache layers.
Once they are cool, place the bottom layer on some parchment paper. Then apply a layer of ganache on top of it. Ganache is incredibly easy to make in a microwave. Simply melt some compound chocolate. Do this by microwaving it for 30 seconds. Use a silicon spatula to whisk it. If its hard, microwave for another 30 seconds. Keep doing in intervals of 30 seconds. This will prevent any burning as it allows you to keep a close watch. Add some warm milk. Add enough milk to get the desired consistency. It should be like a toothpaste. Spread it around the top of the cake. Place the second cake upside down. This will give you a flat surface to work on.
Repeat the process and place the third layer on top.
Leave it for about 30 mins. Let the ganache set and cement the cakes together.
You can either trim the outside of the cakes to form a smooth layer. The other option is to leave them as they are and fill with butter cream frosting. I prefer the latter as its more cream and that is always good.
Prepare butter cream by whisking together equal weights of unsalted butter and icing sugar. Do NOT use regular sugar, which you powdered in a mixie. Icing sugar is a different thing and has additives that help in providing firmness to the cream.
Investing in a revolving cake turntable is highly recommended. These cost less than Indian Rupees 400. They make life very easy.
Fill the butter cream in a piping bag and if you have ever applied mehendi or filled engine oil in a bike, you can easily do this. Apply a layer all around the cake, revolving the turntable to get a smooth piped design. Fill in the gaps. This is NOT your final icing. This is what we call a crumb coat. This will make the outside smooth. It will provide adequate traction for the final layer, smoothen the layer with a icing spatula. This spatula is another low cost investment.
Leave the cake in the fridge, overnight. Its a good idea to not have any smelly vegetables in the fridge as it may not be possible to keep the cake fully covered and we are not baking a cabbage delight.
Prepare multiple batches of butter cream in different colors.
There are no limits to what you can do.
Go wild, Go Mad. Google for cake icing patterns and simply follow what you like.
The first cake you make, may look funny. But a little bit of patience and you will bring up cakes that look just as awesome as they taste.
Involving your kids will not only teach them a few skills but imagine the pride as they show off their birthday cake.
Uncomplicated Cooking 