Butterfly birthday cake - help!

[Joella]

Can anyone let me know if they have used a butterfly cake mould and if the cake was successful. If you buy a mould does it come with clear instructions on how to ice the cake. I've got a piping tool but as I'm not that artistic am slightly worried that icing the cake will turn out to be a disaster. Bit worried, Joella Jr's birthday party is on Sunday and I seem to have set the bar too high!! Also any good places to buy the cake mould - thinking online but would prefer just to go and buy it from a shop so I know I've got it in time

[melbourne groover]

Hi there,

I have a smallish butterfly cake silicone mould you could borrow if you want. We were deep in a butterfly stage last year my recommendation regarding icing is not to pipe if you don't know how (based on my own disasterous attempts - you may be much more skilled of course). In the end I iced the cake and stuck on appropriate sweets as decoration, smarties etc.... I then also made butterfly fairy cakes (where you cut the top off and put wings in the icing). All seemed to work well.

PM me if you want to borrow the mould

Amy

[Mamma Mia]

I have used coloured butter icing and decorated with different colour sprinkles for each section which creates a shimmery effect. I hired a tin from Cake Expectations in Elmers End (?1 plus ?10 deposit I think) but I would imagine Ayres would also hire out cake tins. Have also used the cake decorating shop at Herne Hill opposite Brockwell Park before who also hire out tins. Not sure if they are still there though. Make sure you grease the tin really well as the cake is inclined to stick in the moulded areas.

[bawdy-nan]

you can also just make a round cake cut it in half and put the roudeded semi-circles back to back - slather in icing, pipe a body on and define the wings (ie pipe around the edges)- decorate with sweets or silver balls - et voila - you could use candles to form the antennae

[The Nappy Lady]

I always google whatever cake I'm making for images and then copy the one I feel I can manage - i.e. do a Goggle search on 'Butterfly Birthday Cake' and you should find lots of images.

I had to do a Tiger cake for my daughter this year, and was really amazed by how well it came out, even if more like the cartoon tiger off the Frosties (?) adverts than a real one. You can order fondant icing in any colour you like on line and it is very easy to use, though probably for a butterfly using sparkly glitter stuff and sweets will work better anyway.

Don't be too hard on yourself, I think the little ones always love whatever we produce, and don't notice the flaws that we see ourselves.

Good luck!

[Joella]

Thanks all for your good suggestions, much appreciated! Def think decorating with sweets and glitter stuff is the way forward - may go for a trial run this week! But as you say, I'm sure she won't even notice if it looks like a dodgy butterfly - think the key is pink and glittery!

[gwod]

I made one last year. Mine was just round, and pink but I stuck those florists buuterflies in the top of it that come on long wires Like these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-RED-VELVET-BUTTERFIES-GLITTER-FLORIST-CRAFT-/270483706896?pt=UK_Crafts_Embellishments_SM&hash=item3efa15d410 (one for each guest at the party - the long wire allows them to wobble and flutter above the cake which worked out very well.

[The Nappy Lady]

Ooh, I like that idea, could ice lots of flowers on the top of the cake so butterflies are floating over them, nice one Gwod, may steal that one for next year!

[womanofdulwich]

herne hill cake decorating went a few years ago.:(

[LoopyMum]

What a pickle ! :(

I have sent you a PM to explain in further detail and see attached (cannot send attachment in a PM).

I know it's a Pirate cake but I have uploaded it to illustrate that you can do the same for a Butterfly cake.

Just bake a large circle / square shaped cake then hand model (using sugar paste) the Butterfly for the centre of

the cake.

The skull I modeled in the picture is tiny but you could make the Butterfly much larger to cover the whole centre of

the cake. Will have a cool 2D effect also with bulging antennae, wings etc. A brush of edible glitter and hey presto.

Hope I have made sense !

[bawdy-nan]

definitely agree with the suggestion that you google images of what your're after - I;ve done that fo a few years running and you can usually cobble something together

last year I made a "blue pony cake" as per daughter's instructions and was able to do it after a quick google showed me the essence of my cobble.

Look at the pics for butterly cake

good luck!

(I'm researching "magician cake" for sunday ...whatever that might mean!"

[LoopyMum]

Awesome pony cake ! Love the way you used sweets for the horses rein ! I love children's cakes best - more fun to

make ...