small amount of coffee buttercream for kids cake?

[dandycandyjellybean]

okay or a no no? Am making pirate ship cake and wanted to break up all the dark brown buttercream with somthing a bit lighter, and could only think of coffee buttercream. Don't know if I'm worrying unduly with the tiny amount each kid will eat, or there is a genuine concern re. caffeine. Wot d'ya reckon?

Just make some buttercream with light brown soft sugar, or even dark brown soft sugar. That will give it the right colour.

Some kids might not like the tastre of the coffee.

I wouldn't worry about the tiny amounts of caffeine - presumably they've all had choc before?

Sounds liek a great cake

how are you colouring the dark brown buttercream?

Surely you could just use less of the colouring for a lighter version?

and, yes, the cake sounds fab! and a bit of caffiene won't harm them.

Thanks so much for your replys. I guess they all eat chocolate and some of 'em have probably had coke so I won't worry.

It's a pirates and princesses party so am making a princess cake too, but that one's straightforward, make sponge cake in large pudding basin, snap legs off pound shop barbie doll, jam it in the top of the cake, ice and decorate. Have just had a whale of a time with my glue gun and ribbons and metallic pink sugar icing balls doing wow princess hair and generally blinging her up!!

Have made a couple of treasure chests for the ship using the brown liquorice allsorts, slicing the very top bit of brown off to make a lid, and then gluing loads of the silver icing balls in with sugar paste. Am having such a blast!!!

are you using the lakeland pirate tin? have been hmm-ing over that but I know if I buy the tins (I love the car one too) MIL will think I am bring awkwared (she's a sugarcraft doyenne, though won't do cakes for us)

No, but using ideas from it. 3 round sandwich cakes. Stack 2 together and cut in half to make 4 half moon shapes, stick them together with buttercream. Trim a bit off the bottom of the round edge and then stand cake on that trimmed edge. Gives you basic 'ship' shape, then use the other cake to make any more 'ship' like add-ons. Am cutting a bit out of the middle like the lakeland pirate cake, and putting chocolate railing on that bit.

Then will be coating with chocolate and coffee butter icing to make 2 different shades of wood and will use the silver cake balls here and there for rivets. Have just cut in half a few of those cigar wafer iscuits you get for ice-cream and painted them with melted chocolate and will be putting those in the side of the cake with a candle in each to make cannons. Malteasers and chocolate raisins for cannon balls. BBQ skewers and piratey printed paper for sails. Got a little playmobile pirate for a couple of quid to stand on the cake and brandish cutlass menacingly.

lol, it sounds absolutely fab hairy, well done!

Love the cannon idea!! Polos make good portholes and break up the general brown-ness of pirate cakes!

Brill idea, thanks squiffy...anyone else got any inspiration?

matchmakers are fab for anything wooden - do you need a gangplank?

A small amount of cocoa should turn it coffee brown.

couldn't find any matchmakers anywhere, Asda or Sainsburys or Morrisons, pointydog. So if I just use a lot less cocoa for the lighter colour it should produce a coffee colour? rather than coffee llpj?

have you tried the spar? All spar ahops sell matchmakers. It's actually The Law

Maybe matchmakers are considered a Chrsitmas Sweet. A festive treat. Although I dod remember getting them for one of dd1's cakes one August. Everyone must have bought them up in your area

Some kids are a bit funny about coffee icing I have found so you might be best with less cocoa.

Well, hairy, I was making chocolate icing yesterday and I was rather annoyed to find that the cocoa didn't turn it as dark as I would like. Try adding just a little at a time.

What also works is melted milk chocolate.

Test it first though

as well as cocoa or coffee wouldn't it work if you made some caramel and added that?

or maple syrp but that can be costly

Re dark brown icing - I have used the 'chocolate' icing sugar. Have you seen that? Can't remember the proper name of it but it's tate & lyle. It makes very dark brown icing and it tastes lovely.