Cakes and icing them ...

[LoosyLoops]

I am strating to go mad trying to find the best recipe for my 2 year olds birthday cake!
I am doing him a Bob the Builder cake - I bought a pack of decorations for the top - a Muck and Bob with some road signs and such the like! It is meant to be on a rectangle cake ... I want it to be sponge - without any filing! My mum thinks it should be with a filing and she wants to do it!
But I want to make the cake for him! I am a good cook I would say!

Just advice on best sponge recipe and what icing to use (that is simple) on such a cake - need to do a smooth layer of green - and then I will add to it with the figures and chocolate and stuff!
Sorry it's long ...

I would do weight of the eggs in sr flour, marg and sugar - so approx 2oz of everything per egg. If you want a flat green icing you can buy ready coloured sugar paste, all you have to do is roll it out, and stick it to the top of the cake with butter cream icing. Butter icing - double weight of icing sugar to margarine/butter, cream together, add small amount of milk or vanilla essence to thin

I wouldn't bother with a filling either, if the cake was fairly flat

HTH

If you don't want to use roll on icing (personally I hate it) you can make your cake and then freeze it. Ice it while it is frozen to get a good finish without crumbs coming off and getting stuck in the icing.

I know you say you want a smooth surface but I wouldn't bother - green buttercream looks much more like grass and is 100 times easier to handle - just smear it on and rough up with a palette knife.

(oh, and uncoloured or chocolate buttercream is great stuff for Muck to be 'shovelling')

I don't particularly like the taste of ready roll either, but it does give a very easy smooth finish. Agree that green butter cream would make good grass or could colour dessicated coconut (shake in a bag with green colouring), and stick on cake with buttercream. Coconut only good if you know all children are ok with it. Demerera sugar would look good as 'sand' for the machines to move

Wow! You have all been great! Califrau - the first picture is the exact kit I have bought and it is that cake that I am trying to re-create! Thank you so much for your help! I think I will hit my local Tesco's tomorrow and how a look at some of their stuff!