Questions about a birthday cake

[WibblyPigRocks]

I am making a first birthday cake for my son this Saturday. I have hired a '1' cake tin and the lady said it would hold a 8-10oz mixture.

I have a few qs:

1 - Delia's 'All-in-one' sponge fills two 8'' cake tins - is this the right amount of mixture?

2 - Is this the best cake recipe to use anyway?

3 - I am decorating with butter icing and smarties. Is it really easier to freeze the cake first before decorating it and how long will it take to defrost?

4 - We want to cut the cake at 1ish on Sat - when should I aim to ice it?

5 -Any other final tips??!!

Thanks

i presume when she said 8-10oz she means one made with between 8-10oz of each ingredient?

i have no idea of delias sponge recipe but if i was making an 8oz sponge cake i would do
8oz SR flour
8oz sugar
8oz butter
4 eggs (but weigh them, if trhey're large you may only need 3)

personally wouldn't bother freezing the cake, i'd just ice it and decorate it the night before and then cover with foil

1. I think a 8-10oz mixture means 8oz of flour, sugar & butter and 4 eggs, or 10oz of flour, butter, sugar & 5 eggs. It depends how deep you want it to be.

IIRC Delia's all in one just has an extra bit of baking powder to make up for the fcat that you overwork the flour.

A basic rule of thumb is 1 egg = 2 oz of all the other ingredients so you can multiply it up as you need it if it's not a 4 or 5 egg mix.

1. It's a fine recipe, works well and is less faffy to make than a classic victoria sponge. It will keep in an airtight box for at least 3 days too.

1. It takes about 2-3 hours to defrost. I don't freeze mine but it will stop all the crubs attaching themsleves to the buttercream if it's frozen.

1. It will be fine to ice it on Friday or even Thursday. Keep it in a box to protect it from curious fingers .

1. Has the cake tin got a base or is it just a frame?

Thanks ladies.

Olihan - the cake tin is just a frame - any thoughts? Thanks again!

Okay, the easiest way to grease and line it is to put it on a big piece of greaseproof that's about 6 inches bigger than the cake all the way round.

Put the tin and paper onto a baking tray and twist the corners of the paper together and up so the paper is up around the frame (doesn't have to be overly tight). That should stop you losing loads of mixture out of the bottom.

Grease the inside of the tin, don't forget the edge of the hole in the middle, then cut a strip of greaseproof the same height as the tin and line around the edges and middle, pushing it right into the corners.

Hope that makes some sense!