So, I've promised my DD a butterfly cake...

[smallpotato]

So how the hell do I do it?

My local cookware-type shop actually hires novelty cake tins, and I can hire a butterfly one for £3. I think it's this one But what sort of cake should I do in it - is sponge the best bet? Can I still then cut it in half and put a filling in? And how do I ice it??

Can you tell I have never ever made a birthday cake before, always managed to palm it off on my MIL!

I should add, my sponge cakes are average at best, I recently made one for DH's birthday and the only reason it tasted nice was I filled it with cream and strawberries then smothered more whipped cream on the top!

Two layers of sponge cake, then you can fill with jam and buttercream. You can always just use normal slightly runny icing on the top and make patterns with something like smarties, jellybeans, sugared orange and lemon segments etc to make the wings etc. Cocktail sticks and mini marshmallows will make it's antennae.

Does it have to be butterfly shaped?

If not you could make a normal sponge, decorated with icing flowers and put some of those butterflies on wires sticking out as if they are flying around the cake.

I did something similar for DD years ago and it looked really effective.

BTW The butterflies I used were from a florists that sold some cake decorating bits and bobs and were very cheap

Does it have to be butterfly shaped?

Or could you make/buy a normal round cake and then decorate it with a host of little mesh butterflies mounted on wires?
Sort of like cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Butterfly-Silver-Wire-Cake-Decoration-Wedding-/250728877769 but colourful and madder?

Oooh - spooky x-post

piprabbit OMG -do I know you? Were you at my DD's party?

Are you stalking my mind?

Spooky

Croissantneuf - I don't think so, but I did do DD a birthday cake a couple of years back with an explosion of bees, bugs and butterflies coming out of the top. Very impressive for relatively little creative effort .

Make a large cake in a rectangualr pan (I've done it in a roasting tray before)

When cool you need to cut it. Make two small triangles on the shorter sides. On the long sides, imagine the body of the butterfly as an oblong that runns down the centre. On either side of the oblong, on both sides, cut another two small triangles. It's hard to describe without a picture, but cutting out a stencil first can help. Think something a bit like this

Once you have the basic shape, go mad with icing to block out the body and the wing shapes.

I did this for DD's 6th birthday and it went down a storm despite my total lack of artistic skills. DD says glitter is a must, but then she's into that sort of thing....

oooh, I'm liking the idea of the butterflies on wires! I don't think it necessarily has to be butterfly-shaped (but then who knows what goes on in a 3-year-old's mind...) It is actually for DD2's 1st birthday, but DD1 has told me in no uncertain terms that DD2 'wants a butterfly cake!'

jaffacake, I hadn't thought of just doing a normal cake with a butterfly shape on the top out of sweets etc, that's not a bad idea.

slug, hmm that's not a bad idea either... or I was thinking maybe a normal sponge cake but cut in half so the two semi circles are wings? But then what would be the body?

Madamdeathstare, those cupcake ones look way too complicated for me - it would end up looking like some of the really weird misshapen ones in that link!

Buy a swiss roll for the body?

here

You could always use a swiss roll for the body?

Ooh - another scary x-post.

Must be a rare example of MNers being of one mind.

ooh, I just discovered these! I think I might do a basic sponge with a cream and strawberries filling and buttercream icing, with some of these dotted around and some flowers, and I'll attempt to write her name in the middle. Could also do some coordinating cupcake!

I like those - and they are edible, so even more fun.
Sounds like it will be a lovely cake.