Suggestions for large birthday cake please!

[olimpia]

Hiya
I need to bake a cake for 20 eight-year olds next Saturday. Has anyone got any suggestions (and recipe if possible) of a cake that would definitely please the majority?
Also, in terms of equipment, would I be better off buying two large sandwich tins (if I make something with a filling) or one with removable button (and then slice the cake in half to fill it)?

I'd probably go for a rectangular cake in a roasting tin, rather than a round one. Easier to cut and eat chunky squares than it is to eat tall wedges.

as to recipe - a 6 egg sponge - weigh eggs, then same weight sugar, marg., sr flour. I usually bung it in food processor - whizz sugar and butter/marg first, then add eggs, then flour. I usually add a tsp of baking powder too. If you want choc cake take out a couple of tbs flour and add same of cocoa. Tsp of vanilla essence to plain or choc for flavour.

line the tin with greaseproof or reuseable baking paper to help get it out

choc buttercream on the top, choc sprinkles and say buttons or maltesers in a number 8 and job done!

On Moneysaving expert website there is a recipe for a 10" Madeira cake. I have made this a few times and then cut, carved and iced into fire engines, racing cars and other things. Madeira is sturdier than sponge for a big cake.

Or how about a tower of fairy cakes on a cake stand (cheap at Ikea, or card ones). You can get photos printed onto rice paper, so you could have any theme you want.

I know they have been done to death but cup cakes are so easy to bake, decorate and serve. There are loads of ideas online. You can also serve plain frosted ones for the kids to decorate themselves. Otherwise, I would go with the Madeira cake suggestion.

I made a rainbow cake the other day, made in the same way as a marble cake but with bright rainbow colours. (google 'rainbow cakes' ) I used a thick'ish white frosting to hide the lovely colours inside. It's not wildly original but the teenagers I made it for we're impressed.

Don't make it. Get massive photo cake from ASDA , abou £16 . Feeds an army

Great suggestions!! Thank you all for the quick replies!

When DD was 8 I baked a load of fairy cakes and arranged them in a figure of 8 on a large chopping board that I had covered with foil. It made doling out cakes for the party bags much easier as I had no cake to cut.

Bunny that's a great idea

Hey, she's not called BunBaker for nothing!

I always go with a madeira type cake got long shelf life, check out the two cakes i made yesterday on facebook under Barbara herbert, they were made with 8 eggs and a 9inch tin.

olimpia, what size size cake are you making and is it round or square?

Preens

Thank you anyway. It was much easier than some of the cakes I have made

It is DD's birthday next week and she has asked me to make a "hamburger" cake

Oh bunbaker, i made a hamburger for my son many yrs ago, i made two plain sponged and a chocolate sponge for the beef burger, made some green lettuce hanging over the side and a dollop of tom sauce, then covered the top sponge with a caramel sauce , the coated it in rice krispies to look like sesame seeds, must admit it did look really cool.

I love baking but at the moment all the recipes I find say to use a food processor, like KA or KW and I don't have the money to buy it . I have a tiny food processor but not big enough for cake batter. I've been baking muffins and cookies mixing by hand but I'm a bit worried my arms are not toned enough to mix the batter needed for a cake for 20 people! Anyway, that aside, I went to Lakeland yesterday and so a huge cake tin, both round or square, which would be big enougj but it's of the type with a removable bottom so I would have to slice it in half if I went for one with a filling.
TBH I flicked through Jaime Oliver's latest magazine and I saw a variation of the Victoria sponge with fresh strawberries which is really inspiring.
I'm worried I'm letting myself in fit a lot of trouble though!

By the way, DS says that at school they make the most amazing chocolate fudge cake . I've tried Nigella's recipe and DS says the dinner ladies' is better
Has anyone any ideas? That would be his preferred cake for next week!

olimpia, i agree you would need something like a stand mixer with beaters so much easier and you need to beat the hell out of the sugar to make it like and airy, i bought one myself not so long ago as i got a good few cakes to do over next few months, i got a Ready Steady Cook one from Argos, with a six month payment plan, sorted. I do have a choccy cake recipe which i use all the time, loadsa cocoa powder init, lovely and moist, if you want it let me know.

I only use a hand held mixer for making up cake mixes and it has served me well, being over 20 years old. I have just checked in Which and you can buy a decent one for under £25.

I also, tend to use the all-in-one method for basic sponge cakes and it always works brilliantly. All you do is take a basic sponge recipe and add some extra baking powder (1 teaspoon for a 2 egg mix, 1.5 teaspoons for a 3 egg mix, 2 teaspoons for a 4 egg mix etc) and put everything in the bowl together and combine until well mixed. Don't make the mistake of overbeating otherwise you will work the gluten in the flour and the cake won't rise. This is another good reason not to use a food processor for making cakes.

I never make sponge cakes with the old fashioned creaming method any more because the all-in-one method is more reliable and uses far less electricity.

That sounds like a plan bunbaker! So what is the "basic" sponge recipe? Can I make it both white and chocolatey? Why do you add extra baking powder?
Nannycook, I'll take yours too please!

Very grateful :)

For a large cake I would make a traybake. First of all you need a 12 x 9 in traybake or roasting tin, greased and base lined with baking parchment (not greaseproof paper). Preheat the oven to gas mark 4, 180 deg or 160 deg fan.

Put the following into a large bowl:
8 oz butter or margarine (I use tub Stork and it gives excellent results)
8 oz caster sugar (I use granulated with excellent results)
10 oz self raising flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons milk

Beat until well blended, but don't overbeat. Pour into your prepared baking tin and bake for 35 - 40 minutes.

For a chocolate traybake mix 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate) with 4 tablespoons hot water and reduce the milk to one tablespoon and add this to the basic mixture.

The reason you add baking powder to an all-in-one recipe is that it replaces the air that you would beat in when you cream the butter and sugar together. The chemical reaction from the ingredients in baking powder starts as soon as you add liquid to it, in this case the milk and eggs. This forms carbon dioxide and makes the cake rise. Once you have made up the mix it must go into the oven straight away as the reaction dies down if you leave it too long and the cake won't rise.

Thank you
Will report back later this week to let you know

olimpia, i always used the all in one method till i actually tried the creaming in method, that works for me from now on, i beat the butter and sugar for 10mins untill white, then add the eggs one by one with a spoonful of flour, then add sifted flour has to be sifted, then fold in the flour/cocoa and add the milk, pour into greased tins and bake, i have a fan oven, on160 or normal on 180 for an 1 hr,
Recipe for an 8inch round cake as follows.
165grms soft butter
300grms caster( i always use caster so much lighter)
2tsps vanilla extract(please, not rubbish essence)
3 eggs
65grms s/r flour
200grms plain flour
1 tsps bicarb
70grms cocoa powder( alot of powder i know hence the choccy flavour)
250ml milk
This is a fab recipe trust me, sounds complicated i know but really it isnt.

bun baker, just made your recipe for krispie cakes using the 5 marbars, lush. thanks very much thats the one to use from now on!

I don't think that was my recipe nannycook I would never make a Mars Bar cake as it is too sweet for me.

OOOO, Sorry bunbaker, must be mixing you up, but you could try that, scrummy really scrummy!!

Nanny cook, I would love to see your cake, but there are lots of Barbara herberts on Facebook!