Birthday cakes, icing and keeping

[Bingtata]

I need to make DD two birthday cakes for next weekend - one for saturday afternoon and one for sunday afternoon.

One will be chocolate sponge and one normal sponge, both iced with buttercream. Would it be ok to make and ice them both on Friday and then how to best store them? Will they last the weekend?

Also any foolproof recipes for a chocolate sponge/chocolate icing?

Thanks

Covered and in the fridge or cool place, anywhere too warm and the butter icing will melt and run.

Chocolate sponge, just replace, 2 of the 4 oz of flour with a good chocolate powder. For the icing just add chocolate powder to the butter icing and you could grate extra chocolate on the top of the cake.

Thank you Ipom

I just came on to ask a very similar question so may i gate crash please?

I've just made a sponge ready to ice tomorrow. What exactly do i cover it in to leave it in the fridge tonight please? cling film? foil? I don't have a tupperware big enough that's for sure.

This is my first ever birthday cake - I'm very nervous .

cling film will be fine.

Good luck on the fisrt birthday cake.

The first two sponges didn't look great at all so i tried a recipe that i found on here and made a third (but not in the right shape as that cake tin was still full of sponge No. 2). I've done a taste test and the third sponge is much much nicer. My first two hardly rose at all and are much drier than the third.

So I've just put my fourth attempt in the oven and will have to pop to the supermarket when DS gets home to buy more eggs and more sugar so that I can make the fifth and final one! Icing will now have to wait until tomorrow as they wont have time to cool down properly tonight. Cutting it fine rather (DS's birthday is tomorrow) but what the heck?

Good luck.

It sounds daft but the quality of the flour, butter and eggs really do make a huge difference.

Sift the flour twice as well, get plenty of air in the butter and sugar mix.

The icing can always be done in advance, just keep it in a covered bowl in the fridge.

thanks again Ipom. The fourth attempt rose nicely and I used that one plus one of the originals (DH and DS insisted they were fine). Once iced etc it looked quite good - DS told me he was very proud of me and it was a fantastic first ever birthday cake. i was very touched . It all got eaten too so I was actually rather proud of myself. Daft huh? Other people have been making birthday cakes for an eternity but I make one and think I'm the bees knees!!

Be proud of yourself.

Here's an idea for next year...

Make fairy cakes, and stuff one into the base of an icecream cone, squirt a little syrup or something into the cone, take another fairy cake and put that on top, cover with a coloured icing and sprinkles.

Repeat with more cakes and icecream cones, using different coloured icing. Put a candle in the one for the birthday girl/boy.

Voila, birthday icecream cakes. To stand the cones, get an eggbox, turn upside down and make holes big enough for the cones on the raised bits of the box and cover with foil. Decorate with sweets and stand the cones in the holes of the eggbox..