Birthday Cake SOS: Easy enough a child could do it

[Mottmott]

I've been nominated by my DIL - last minute of course - to "help" my 8 year old grandson make a cake for his Dad's birthday party - this Saturday. We'll need 30 servings. This is complicated by my recent hip injury that has me just coming off a cane. I'm still hobbling about and it's been 10 months since I've baked! (DIL is not being insensitive, I minimize how restricted my activities have been.)

I tend to like European style tortes more than the traditional American three-layer cake and most of my home baking tends to emphasize flavorful fruit or nut cakes that take little more than a dusting of confectioners, skipping the hi-sugar frostings.

So, I'm really in need of advice. I'm open to anything that won't take three days and scouring the city for ingredients. I'd like to do something like an almond cake. (Though I'm open to other possibilities.) Ordinarily I'd just dust it with confectioners garnish with fruite and/or whipped cream, but need advice:

1. Advice about the best almond cake recipe. [Note I've read this No one disagreed with Russ. Does that imply consent? Or just too small a sample.]

2. Advice on turning it into a birthday cake (or2) to serve 30 people.

3. Advice on decorating it (semi-) elegantly, though minimally.

As an aside, I had, recently printed out a sheaf of almond cake recipes to try out to decide on the "best" and laid in a tub of almond paste from Assoluline. When I was ready to start, I'd have posted a thread on it, but this has precipitated action.

[ladycakeapril]

I guess a key question might be, what kind of cake does your son like?

It seems 30 servings lends itself to a more American sheet cake type of thing rather than a fancy European deal, especially when you have a kid helping.

What about a dark chocolate sheet cake with coffee icing and edible gold button decorations? Elegant but pretty easy, and you can save the almond experiments for when you are feeling up to it.

[zoe b]

what about a pavlova? It's easy and beautiful--you can make a huge sheet pan size one, cover with it whipped cream and make beautiful patterns with fruit over the top--the grandson would have a ball doing this.

If you want chocolate, there's even a delicious chocolate recipe from Nigella Lawson.

Zoe

[patris]

What about cupcakes? Fairly easy to do 30 of 'em, you could do a couple flavors, can be frosted fairly quickly with a pastry bag, and might be fun for your grandson to embellish...

[sugarsugar]

I agree with the others - with an 8 year old helping, I'm thinking something where you can let loose a little with the decorating is definitely in order! The best birthday cake of my life so far is the one my 4 year old decorated with his daddy!!

What about something like layers of genoise with fruit/cream filling? You could make a SMBC or IMBC to ice it, then color the remaining buttercream different shades. Fill some piping bags with a couple of different tips, then let the 8YO go to town!

Or, as others have suggested, go more the sheetcake route - there are some great recipes in The Cake Bible that, even though they aren't proper tortes, are still very tasty and light.

Cupcakes can be a great option - to "fancy them up" a little, you can always fill them. White cake with a fresh lemon curd filling and some IM or SMBC would be delicious!!

[pupkinpie2]

Like you Mottmott, I too like European tortes. But I think for an 8 year old you will have to set aside your personal tastes and think like an eight year old.

It will be a messy endevour but will be rewarding. I can think of a couple ways of going about this. Since you may not be able to be on your feet all day making a cake, waiting for it to bake and cool, and making the filling and finishing it. All the while doing it with the 'help' of you could easily be a 4-5 hour project. That sounds like a long time for you to be on your feet after a hip surgery, and a long time to hold his attention.

So you can either make the layers or sheet cake ahead of time and just make the icing with him, or you figure out how to break it up into stages. I.E. mix and bake the cake, watch a movie while its baking and cooling, and then frost the cake. I think the key is no matter how messy it gets or how things turn out, have a positive attitute and he will love it.

A simple marble sheet cake can be fun (just take 10% of the vanilla frosting and add a little cocoa powder) and swirl it in, cup cakes, or a basic layer cake filled with fresh fruit.

Please post an update with what you decide to make

[Mottmott]

Thanks for all the input. I've decided to go with a sheet cake. As suggested, staging it makes it easier. We did some of the shopping yesterday and will finish up by getting the eggs and butter today.

I will make an almond batter. It's a nice compromise. It's a nut based cake, and yet using the ready made almond paste, it shouldn't be much more complicated than anything else. We'll make the sheet this afternoon. Then tomorrow we can make the buttercream and decorate it.

We went to Fante's and bought some more colors and a bunch of plastic piping bags. The plan is to decorate it with many colored balloons.