all you amazing, talented cake makers - over here please!! complete novice needs your help!!

[cordonbleugh]

Hello!! I have decided to bake DD's birthday cake myself this year, just to make it a bit more special sothatIcanshowoff.

However........apart from fairy cakes from packet mixes, I have never made a cake before.

I'm thinking plain sponge, with buttercream and jam in the middle, and icing on top.

But how do you make the sponge lovely and fluffy like shop bought ones?!

DD is obsessed with Tigger, so I wanted to put his face on it. Do I make my own icing, or buy it ready made? How do I make it orange, yellow, pink and black? could I use edible pens for the black stripes?

Any recipes for light fluffy sponge, icing, and buttercream very much appreciated!!
TIA

[jabberwocky]

You need olihan

[cordonbleugh]

BUMP

[iMum]

I always do this basic recipie.
6oz sugar, butter and SR flour, and 3 eggs dash of vanilla extract.

I always melt the butter, never sieve the flour and just mix by hand with a spoon-couldnt be easier! bake at 160 for about 20 mins or until a knife comes out clean.

You can scale this up for larger cakes.

Some piccies on my profile of cakes I have made.

[cordonbleugh]

thanks iMum!

Have noted down the recipe - seriously only 20 mins?! I thought it would take longer than that!!

Just peeked at your profile, and saw you did a tigger cake yourself! ( all other cakes are amazing as well btw!)

how did you do the icing for that?

[iMum]

I coloured some regalice orange and iced onto the buttercream on the cake, the trick with novelty cakes is to ice them thick for a prof looking finish.

I also put some bits of icing on first to make the cheeks and the ears, the nose is a separate cake. It depends on your oven re cooking times, but about 20/25 mins for an 8 inch cake, but increase as you need.

[iMum]

ok just re read your op.

the tigger cakes is very simple.

Bake 1 12 inch sponge.
even the top off
cut into basic head shape and nose shape, place on board and jam and cream it.
mould some icing into ears and cheeks.
ice head over the ears and cheeks, then ice the nose and place that ontop of the head.
I coloured all my own icing and the colours are easy to get hold of from cake shops.
I used licorice wands for the whiskers.

Any questions just ask.
I used to work in a novelty cake shop btw.