AIBU to think I could make a cake this - never done decorating before

[Birthdaycakehelp]

So it’s my DDs first birthday in a few weeks and I want to make her a special cake - yes I know she won’t have a bloody clue what it is or what her birthday is but we’ll have a few people round for cake and party food bits (nothing fancy) and I’d like the cake to look special.

She has a lot of octopus toys and things that she likes to play with and I’ve got it in my head to make her an octopus cake. I’m a decent baker and I can make a nice cake but I’ve never done any kind of cake decorating at all. AIBU to think I could make something like the picture below. Looking at the steps it seems like it should be doable but am I kidding myself. I’m worried it’s going to look like one of those cliched expectations vs reality cake posts!

Give it to me straight. AIBU? Can I do this?

You've done a great job, I love the colours. Well done Op

Crikey, that's really good!! Well done! 😊

That's brilliant!!

Oh I love it. Super well-done to you. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Ah it was really good fun! I’m definitely in this birthday cake game now for the long haul

You did a great job, everyone will love it! Enjoy. 🐙

Ahhh OP that’s so lovely. Some of my fave memories are cool bday cakes my mum had a go at. Some were a bit ropey but it was the fact she had a go!

It looks amazing op! 😍🐙

Wow! Well done, that is amazing. Especially for a first go!

*i wanted to make a unicorn cake for my daughters 1st birthday, thought “it surely can’t be hard to make a horn and some eyelashes”.

I had two practice runs, the bastard horn was actually really hard to twirl into a shape that didn’t resemble a penis. It looked like a really awful sex themed cake both times*

Someone posted this on a baking forum and was genuinely surprised and offended at the ensuing hilarity.

Looks great. Well done.

Ooh it looks fabulous! Well done.

I'm a vegan baker too due to allergies.

I can highly recommend this recipe:

www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16779/vegan-chocolate-cake/

It looks brillaint, I showed DD & she was really impressed. Well done!

mimisunshine I'm a fairly serious hobby baker, I've made loads of unicorn cake and have the penis/horn issue every time.

Everyone starts somewhere.

I went from a dodgy in the night garden cake to full castle in 3 years.

The right tools do help

Cake smoother
Decent icing
Skewers or a fat straw to hold the head up.

Have fun and don't stress about it.
All the kids will remember is that you made their cakes

Well done. I think it's brilliant

Worth a try, anyway, and if it’s a real disaster (but it probably won’t be) you can always go and buy one.

I was worlds away from an expert cake maker when I made a fairy castle cake for a dd’s 4th birthday, recipe was in a magazine. Turrets baked in soup or baked bean tins etc., with paper cones on top, base was just an ordinary sponge, and decorating wasn’t too difficult at all.

I was so chuffed with it, I didn’t want it wrecked by having to cut it!

Just go for it, OP.

Fabulous OP!

Wow amazing job OP!!

Amazing job OP!

You can get those plastic rods that you can put in the cake to support the weight of the head. My friend did this when she made a tiered cake with each tier sitting directly on top of the other.

I reckon you can do it!

I love a cake thread. I clicked and saw the date of the OP and hoped you'd come back to update. Well done! It looks great and I bet it tastes even better.

Wow, that looks brilliant. Well done.

What a lovely thread. I can’t bake very well but have tried a few times (with help from friends sometimes) and have always been really pleased. When I was little looking through birthday cake books was my favourite thing.

Cake looks great OP, well done!!! Enjoy the celebrations