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Novelty
Cakes
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Novelty
cakes are cakes shaped and decorated in all types of designs.
Anything goes from a baseball glove, the Eiffle Tower, a barbie doll
(the cake my mom made for me when I was little), a flower pot or
Barney, etc. |
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Cakes, whether simple and homespun or elegant and
elaborate, add a note of festivity to every occasion. One type, called Novelty
cakes are becoming increasingly popular. They are perfect for a birthday party,
a wedding shower or any special or "just because" occasion.
When making a novelty cake, you need a firm, closely textured,
butter-laden cake, such as a Pound cake.
They are much firmer than butter cakes or genoise and have incomparable, buttery
aroma that emanates from the oven during baking. Pound cakes also keep very well
at room temperature (about 5 days) and freeze very well, up to a month.
They can be made in the following forms:
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There are three types of Novelty cakes: |
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Round or square cakes with figures or scenes on top (these can
be put on an iced board on top of the cake so they can be removed before
cutting the cake and kept as a souvenir). |
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2-dimensional cakes, where the cake is cut into the shape of
the required item (house, car, champagne bottle, dinosaur) and is placed
flat on the board in bas relief. |
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3-dimensional (3-D) cakes, where it is a replica model of the
required subject and stands upright on the cardboard cake board or serving
platter. |
 Q:
Can you
bake cookie dough in a regular character
pan used for cakes or are the cookie pans different?
A: Yes, you can use the character cake pans for
cookies. Take your favorite cookie recipe
that makes 2 dozen cookies or one package of refrigerator dough, lightly
spray pan and then press dough into pan so it's not too thick, making it
even on top. Bake according to package directions -- if you have a problem
with the cookie baking all the way through, reduce the oven heat by 25
degrees F. Eat and enjoy! |
NOVELTY CAKE TIPS:
 General
Tips:
Be sure pans are either greased (with vegetable
shortening, not oil or butter) and floured or sprayed with a vegetable spray.
(Do not grease baking cores).
It is important to follow pan directions for
batter amounts. Bake cakes on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any overflow.
The longer you cool the cake, the better it will
come from the pan. I often cool mine overnight and then unmold.
Check for cake doneness in a couple of ways:
some can be checked after recommended baking time by
removing top of pan. The cake can be returned to the oven without the top of the
pan if more baking time is needed. Others can be checked with a long skewer from
the top.
If using a cast iron pan, it needs to be seasoned first. You
can do this over a flame, or in the oven. Put a little vegetable oil on it, then
heat it until it smokes. Then, after cooling, I would butter and flour it.
The key when baking a cake in a mold is to keep it stable when
baking. I would suggest scrunched up aluminum foil, almost like in balls, to
stabilize the pans, then put your cake mix in.
You'll have to keep an eye on how they bake, because the mold
will have thinner and thicker spots.
Cool it after taking it out, then put the two pieces of cake
together, using a bit of jam or icing, and decorate it.
3-D Cake Tips: 
Duncan Hines mixes produces 5 1/2 cups of batter, perfect for
a 3-D pan which needs approximately 6 cups of batter.
All 3-D pans work best with a firm-textured cake
batter (pudding added mixes and pound cakes). Do not use a traditional white
buttercake as the crumb is too tender.
Icing Tips:
Ice any parts you see that are smooth using a spatula. Often a
small angled (offset) spatula works best.
| Flower
Pot Cake Follow directions for brandy or rum cake cake, or a
simple yellow box or scratch cake using 2 cups of flour. Obtain a new,
clean, 5” or 6” clay flower plot. Wash and dry. Cut a double-thick circle of
foil for bottom of pot, then line sides of pot with single layer of foil,
pressing against sides firmly. Spray with baking spray and dust all lightly
with flour before adding cake batter. Bake 40-45 minutes or until cake
touched lightly springs back. Cool in pot ten minutes, then turn out onto
rack widest side down and cool thoroughly. Meanwhile, wash out pot. When pot
is dry, again line the bottom with a double thickness of foil cut to fit.
When cake is cool, return to pot, drizzle with rum or
brandy syrup according to directions in recipe, or if you have used a plain
yellow cake, cook a simple syrup adding 1/4 cup brandy or rum during the
last five minutes of preparation. When syrup is cool, puncture cake all over
the widest surface and brush on syrup. When dry, sprinkle with
confectioners’ sugar, cover lightly with wide circle of cellophane wrap
(florist’s cellophane works well, but don’t use plastic kitchen wrap, as it
will be too air tight and melt the sugar topping) tied with glittery ribbon,
with a stem or two of silk flowers inserted in the knot. Present as gift
within 2 days. |
Pat cornstarch on with your finger to smooth any icing down.
For smoothing larger sections I have a couple of
other tips:
1. For the sides, use the
cake icer tip.
You'll need a
large bag (16"). Place the tip down in the bag, fill with icing. Not so
much you can't handle it comfortably. Hold the bag on side and pipe the sides
smooth. You may need to touch up with a spatula until you get the hang of this.
But it is easier and faster than a knife. If icing is sticking up at the top,
take your small angled spatula and smooth it over the top of the cake to make it
finished-looking.
2. For smooth parts on top: Spread the icing on with a small
angled spatula. Then use a smooth paper towel. Lay the towel on the icing once
it crusts and the towel won't stick...about 5-10 minutes after the icing is
spread on, and rub in a circular motion, lift the towel away.
Novelty Cake Questions posted on
Ask Sarah:
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Q:
I'm very new to cake decorating and recently I did a baby cake for a
shower. I used a character pan and the cake turn out very
nicely. But once I covered it with a thin layer of icing I couldn't tell
where to place the eyes and mouth. I just guessed. It was ok but is there
an easier way than eyeballing it. To seal crumbs is there an icing that is
transparent for just sealing cakes. Thank you for sharing.
A: I don't know of an icing that
is transparent for a character cake, you can, however, brush the cake with
an
apricot glaze or
even warm
piping gel.
This will help seal the cake, and then you can see where the placement for
the decorating goes. Be sure to space your starts practically on top of
each other, so you don't leave space for the cake underneath to dry out!! |
QUESTION: I am planning a Peter Pan themed
birthday party and want to have a pirate ship cake. I thought that I might use 2
11x7 pans end to end for the length of the ship, cutting the bow out of one end.
Any other suggestions?
AANSWER: Your idea sounds good, you
can also use pretzel rods for the masts and cut parchment paper for the sails
etc. Maybe buy pre-made
fondant
and color it and use it like play-dough and make a green alligator (sorry, I
don't remember his name).
If you don't want your cake to be that long you could stack
the cakes on top of each other, like a layered round cake and then lay a "ship"
pattern on the cake and cut a 3-D ship out. Then serve skinnier pieces of cake
instead of big squares for the same number of servings, then the cake wouldn't
be 30-inches long.
For good brown icing for the ship you may need to add cocoa to
richen the color. I did a Noah's Ark cake years ago and found red color and
cocoa helped a LOT with the rich "ship" brown color.
 Q:
I want to do my son a big racing car cake but I don't know how to do it
can you help me or show me a patterns and how to cut it.
A: You will need to make a
pattern by drawing the car, a 2-Dimension for a flat sheet cake or a
3-dimension for a stand up cake. Once you decide what size
cake, then bake the appropriate size. If using a sheet cake, cut the
pattern before icing. For a stand up cake you will ice between the layers
of cake and then cut the whole cake to sculpt the car from it, then ice
and decorate the whole thing to look like a race car.
There are 3 Dimensional cake help books out there. I
believe that http://www.sweetc.com
has many cake decorating books in their catalog. |
QUESTION:
Dear Sarah, for Fathers Day this year I wanted to make
a red velvet armadillo shaped cake, but cant find a cake pan anywhere! do you
have any ideas how I could make this happen?
ANSWER: What
a great idea! To start, I have a great recipe for a
Red Velvet Cake.
Pound cakes also make great novelty cakes. Click for more
cake recipes.
Start with an egg pan. Bake the cake, let it cool
completely and trim it a little to make it a bit more flat. Then, make the head
from a small mini wonder mold (it's just 3" long) and make cupcakes for the
feet. Gray rice paper for the ears and a squiggle of gray icing for the tail,
and my armadillo should be complete. Click for
cake pans.
You can also use a novelty cake pan. There's one on
http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/pans/novelty.htm The Stegosaurus pan
looks close to an armadillo.
Click on pictures to enlarge. Some photos from
one of my favorite sites,
cakesbydesign.
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