The Crazy Kitchen: My baby turns Four & a Football Birthday Cake

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Thursday 28 March 2013

My baby turns Four & a Football Birthday Cake

On Sunday Jack turned 4, it's hard to think where the past 4 years have gone. It seems like only yesterday that I was pregnant for what felt like ages yet it feels like he's been in our lives forever.

On Friday we had a heavy fall of snow and by Saturday started to get a bit worried for his party after another heavy snowfall. Thankfully by early afternoon the main roads were clear and Cinderella did go to the ball after all.

Jack had a fab party with his little friends at a local indoor play centre. As I wanted to keep his birthday cake until his actual birthday we didn't cut it and instead put football cupcakes into the party bags.


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We then went to the pub with a few of the friends where Jack opened a couple of his presents.


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Later at home the children enjoyed a pot of hot chocolate and biscuits whilst opening the rest of the party presents.


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Sunday was another day of present opening.


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and cake....

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Unfortunately the day didn't go to plan due to more snow meaning that Nanny and Pop Pop couldn't come and visit. We instead spent most of the day indoors playing Playmobil.

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No overnight snow on Monday meant that Nanny and Pop Pop could come up for the afternoon and stay for tea, and we sang Happy Birthday for the third time and finally cut the cake!

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If you're wondering how to make a football cake read on....


Football Birthday Cake

I've had the Wilton ball cake tins for around 7 years but I've never been brave enough to make one. Jack is mad about football so I thought I would dust it off & try it out this year after picking up a few tips on another blog here.

I used my favourite Madeira recipe that I found on the recipes2share website, and used a 5 egg recipe (291g butter, 291g sugar, 291g SR flour, 145g plain flour & 5 eggs).

It's best to prepare the tins using butter & flour or Wilton Cake Release to make sure they come out easily.

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I sliced the tops of the cakes off whilst still in the tins, then removed and allowed to cool fully on a wire rack.

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Once the cakes are cool sandwich them together with jam and buttercream

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then coat the cake completely in a chocolate ganache. This not only makes the cake easier to handle, without the halves sliding apart, it also gives a good surface to glue the icing to.

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Cut black pentagons and white hexagons from rolled out icing, each with 3cm sides, and start sticking them to the cake using edible glue

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You may find that as you get further down the cake the pieces don't fit very well, and you may need to stretch them to fit

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Once covered completely, you can brush over lightly with alcohol to remove any icing sugar. Cover a cake board in green icing and glue down a ring of icing to support the cake. Use edible glue to stick the cake to the base.

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I made cupcakes to give to party guests using my favourite vanilla cupcake recipe and vanilla buttercream coloured with green paste and piped on using a grass tip

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I made edible football decorations by making a silicone half football mould by using a toy football and silicone plastique, which were then filled with icing in the same way that I made Lego bricks. The footballs were then coloured with an icing pen.

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I bought plastic cupcake boxes for everyone to take their cakes home in - one of my pet hates is a slice of cake wrapped in a napkin!

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3rd February 2014 : I am linking this up to the Team Honk Great British Bake Off for Sport Relief but will be making this again next month as Jack has requested it again for his 5th birthday!

Mummy Mishaps

26 comments:

  1. Cracking cake! And haha at the cake in napkins. That's one of my pet peeves. I absolutely hate it. Why would people do it? It just gets all sticky...

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  2. thank you - it took me longer to write it up than it did to make the cake! Putting cake in napkins is such a waste of good cake...all stuck to the napkin & dried up!

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  3. You seriously are the coolest mama ever. Amazing cake. I am so glad Jack got to have his party and a nice 3 day party event xx

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  4. Oh I need to hire those thins of you for Mini's birthday in June. He would love this cake!


    You are ingenious

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  5. That cake is absolutely epic, so very impressive. Well done you! I love the cupcake boxes, where did you get them from?


    And that top photograph of Jack is completely beautiful!

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  6. Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom30 March 2013 at 01:58

    That cake is so intricate - I love it!

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  7. Amazing cake! I love it!!! Happy birthday to your son :) x

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  8. Charelle Wigley30 March 2013 at 08:44

    Wow - the football cake is impressive but the cupcakes just take this whole thing an extra mile! fantastic!

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  9. Thanks Elaine...it's not really difficult but it does take a little time & patience! X

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  10. You are welcome to borrow them, although I have seen that Lakeland now sell hemisphere cake pans! X

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  11. He looks so angelic doesn't he! Thanks & the boxes are from eBay (of course!) x

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  12. its a brilliant ball cake Helen and looks so realistic - you are very cake tastically talented!! and Jack is looking so handsome and grown up - so glad he got to cut his cake in the end on day 3!!! x x

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  13. Katie @mummydaddyme31 March 2013 at 23:09

    Helen I really think you are so amazingly talented, you should write a cake book! (Don't get a big head. ;) ) But I really do! The football cake is fab. I cannot believe Jack is four, its crazy! x

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  14. Hi Helen, did you buy the green paste icing or make it? Thanks, Andrea

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  15. Votre blog est terriblement séduisante. Votre atelier est énorme. Je désire être présent. Je suis contenté de votre message. Je vais vous rendre visite pour plus mise à jour. Merci!

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  16. thank you for linking this up it does look fab x x

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  17. It looks brilliant, if you fancied linking to celebration cakes and bakes as well you'd be very welcome! http://jaisee.com/mummymakescakes/februarys-celebration-cakes-and-bakes/

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  18. Wonderful. My boys would love this cake.

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  19. Inspired and made with love. What a lucky birthday boy Jack is.

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  20. Fabulous cake! I must get a ball mould. Also, do you have a pentagon cutter? I try to do freehand, but they never quite match up. Your's are fab :)

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  21. Wow!! That looks fantastic!! I also love the cupcakes :-) #THGBBO

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  22. wow! This is just amazing! I so need to get one of those piping tips. I wanted to have 'grass' on my Daughters cake, and that would have done nicely.

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