My word, cake moulds are expensive. Good recipes for a big square cake needed instead please!

[TheSkiingGardener]

I thought a number 1 on his first birthday would be nice (Not original, but nice!) and looked for a cake tin, they're over £20!

So I am going to cook a big square cake. Any recipes that are good in large sizes or tips on how to get it all cooked at the same time much appreciated.

This chocolate cake recipe I guarantee is absolutely fantastic. It really is absurdly easy and foolproof, but might need to cook longer than an hour - up to two hours is often needed. Look at the reviews of it and how many people raved! I was thrilled with the results. It makes a BIG cake so it should be perfect for your mold. TRY IT!!!. I haven't tried the icing recipe though, just dusted it with icing sugar.

(You can sometimes hire cake tins very cheaply - just in case you still fancied the number one shape.)

x-post!

My best tip is to cook your square cake and then freeze it. Just before you want to assemble it take it out freezer and leave 20 mins or so. Then cut to the shape you want (ie a number1) - the partly frozen cake it easy to cut with breaknife and won't crumble etc. You can then decorate it.

I do a lot of novelty cakes and never use a mold. Instead, I bake a large square cake and cut to size. You could try that, it's easier than you might think.

You could always carve a number one out of a square cake like this it isn't that hard to do!

You would want a standard madeira recipe for that though, just have a google

I would just buy a traybake tin and make a traybake cake (Mary Berry recipes are good for this) and cut it according to requirement. I have done this on several occasions for my daughter.

A few tips: Cut the cake the day after baking. Ice it with a thin layer of butter cream and leave to set. After the icing has set put another thin layer on top. This way you won't get crumbs mixed into the icing.

A cake iced with buttercream will freeze and defrost without any problem at all. I do this all the time.

A couple of our local shops hire out cake tins for a very reasonable price - I think it is less than a fiver.

If not make a large rectange cake and carve it up, piece together in required shape and cover with butter icing. Voila!!! I've made several trains and castles like this!!

Can I just say that my recipe (above) is specifically for a big sized tin - it doesn't get that dried-out-edges, clay-like-middle that some other recipes do when cooked in big tin. Agree with carving it up into a 1 good luck!