Hi to all you totally awesome cake people. I am so glad I found this site.I am a complete cake moron here, so hang with me. I would like to make a golf cake for my sons fourth birthday. It will be for family and friends, but I would like to to do the best job I can. My mom made all my bday cakes growing up so I would like to give it a go. I know I want the top to resemble a green with some simple lettering. My question is concerning icing as this will be an outdoors party in Florida in early May. I read that buttercream would not be best if outdoors? I am too new to even think about fondant or anything else so elaborate. Also, I will most likely be using boxed cake mix and from what I haveread it looks like I shoul make the icing myself. I have done some reading about crumbing the cake first and refrigerating it both before and after. Again, I have never done anything like this so any tips, help or advice would be so wonderful.
Abby
Where in Florida are you??
I would suggest doing a White Almond Sour Cream cake (WASC) - awesome! And definately make Indydebi's buttercream recipe - It is fine for outside and it tastes really good too! You can find both recipes in the recipe section.
Level your cakes after they have cooled, you can fill them with buttercream and crumb coat it and let it set up - you can refrigerate it, but you don't have to, just make sure that your crumb coat is smooth. Indy's buttercream will crust in about 15 - 20 mins. so you can put a second layer of icing on.
there is a piping tip that you can buy that has a bunch of little holes in the tip - I'm not sure what number it is, but that would give you look of the green. Make sure that you use the gel colors, not the food coloring in the grocery store.
Welcome to CC, I'm sure that you will catch the addiction as we all have!! good luck on your cake and feel free to ask questions, everyone here is super nice and VERY helpful!!
Yes - Welcome to CC!
I too am in Fla .. not too far from you janelwaters 
And Ive used Indydebi's BC recipe in the middle of summer for outdoors and have had no complaints! Its a great one to try for May!!
Good Luck! And post a pic when your done with it!!
ok, so not to sound like totally stupid but what do you mean "fill them with buttercream? also how far in advance would you make this, and should it be out in the refrigerator until party time? I really appreciate the two that responded to me and will search for the links you mentioned. Also, where can gel color be purchased? Publix? or do I need to go to a specialty shop?
Thanks
Welcome, welcome, welcome. I was exactly where you are just two short months ago, and I can't tell you how much I've learned since then. In fact, I just learned something in the first answer to your post: I make a lot of cakes in Cancún (my kids and their families live there) and I've never gotten buttercream to set up right in all the times I've tried. I'm certainly going to give Indydebi's recipe a try! I know you're going to love it here, and we're really glad to have you! I second the motion for you to send a photo when your cake's done.
you can get the gel colors from Michael's/Jo-Ann's or Walmart in the craft/wedding section.
You will want to bake 2 cakes - like 2, 8 inch or 2, 10 inch or whatever size you want. This gives you 2 layers, you will want to level them by cutting off the "hump" on the tops. Then you put buttercream on top of the cut side of one of the cakes and then you will flip the other cake on top of the buttercream, cut side down - so that when you cut into the cake you will have cake, icing, cake - that is called "filling".
Hope that helps!
HI WELCOME TO CC I'VE BEEN HERE 2 MONTHS AND I LOVE IT.
Welcome to CC. Are you planning on making a sheet cake or a round cake. When I make a sheet cake for my kids I usually do it half white and half chocolate. I bake my cakes in a 9 X 13 pan, trim the edges so that they will fit together better, then I frost them with buttercream. If you are planning on doing a round cake, here is a link that may help you understand about leveling and filling your cake.
Sorry, for some reason I can't get the url to post . I will try it once more. Maybe it will work this time.
thanks for all the input. I am still wondering about the crumb coat and refrigeration? if this was your cake, how far in advance woul you make it and should it be refrigerated up to event time or not???
thanks
I would do the cake the day before - as in, Serving cake Saturday...I would bake the cake and make my icings on Thursday and I would fill, crumb coat and ice and decorate on Friday - I do not feel that it needs to be refrigerated. The icing does not have to be kept cold and neither does the cake.
(that is just the way that I do it, it does not mean that it is the ONLY way!)
Where in Florida are you?
I also use Indydebi's BC recipe (it's fab) but I substitute water for the milk. I prefer to not use perishable ingredients in my BC but that doesn't mean it's right or wrong, just my preference.
Lets say that your party is on Saturday:
I would suggest making your icing 4 days in advance (Wednesday) so your colors have plenty of time to set & you can devote plenty of time to preparing & coloring your BC. Make sure you start with the lesser amount of liquid (your icing will be really really stiff) then you can slowly add more water or milk to thin it out to your prefered consistency.
When you pinch a dab of BC between your thumb & index finger it should stick to both fingers & leave stable peaks on both fingers. If it is too stiff it will just pack together & not stick to one finger, if it is too soft it will feel real smooth & "slimey" (for lack of better word) & it won't hold a peak.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Bake your cake on Thursday. I always use box mixes but have just recently began using a basic chocolate recipe I found on CC. Either way you'll be fine.
Coat your cake pans with a mixture of oil/flour/shortening (equal parts mixed together really well) with a silicone brush to ensure that your baked cake releases perfectly from the pan.
I HIGHLY reccommend purchasing a set of "Bake Even Strips" sold by Wilton. They wrap around the cake pan & make the cake bake & rise without a "hump" in the middle. You will still want to level your cake top, but you won't lose as much cake this way.
After your cake is cooled but uncut & unleveled, wrap the cakes in clear cling wrap overnight to lock in the moisture & create a fabulous texture. YUM!
Friday, unwrap the cakes to let them "airdry" just a bit while you get all of your BC out of the fridge. Give you BC a quick stir just to make sure it is all good creamy.
Go ahead & level your cakes now & I like to cut off all the outside edges. This way you have all "inside" cake without the harder crust around the edges.
Ice & decorate however you want to.
HTH!
PS. I also really like the Wilton Course books that are offered to go with the classes. You don't have to take the classes, but the books are really helpful & have great pictures. You can get them at any hobby store.
'crumb coat' - a very thin coat of icing that seals in the crumbs. Allow that coat to crust or set up and then put the finish coat of icing on the cake. The purpose is to keep the crumbs from the cake out of the Finish coat of icing. Refrigerating the cake is optional. Some people like working with a cold, firm cake.
Use gel colors- if you have a small jar rather than a squeeze bottle use toothpicks to remove the color from the jar- DO NOT stick the toothpick back into the jar for more color- that will contaminate the whole jar. Use a fresh toothpick. Gel colors can be strong, and it can take a while to get the stain off of stuff so have paper towels out and ready for the used toothpicks, spoons, drips and smears.
The grass tip described above would make a nice green golf course.
Thanks so much to all who responded.I am in Tampa area. I really appreciate all the pointers here. I will take a picture when I complete it and post back! Thanks for all the encouragement too. When I get a break from my 3 month old I would like to take the classes!
Welcome!! You'll find lots of great help on this site!
Hi! Welcome to CC!!
Another tip: Look in the galleries for pictures of golf cakes (In the sports section). I have a much better time when I can look at a cake that someone has already done and base my ideas off of that.
You can also send a PM (Private message) to the person who decorated it for advice. Most everyone will respond pretty quickly, I've found. Sometimes it depends on how often they come on here--but I suppose soon you will be like everyone else and check back very frequently. As the banner says on the home page "This website is highly addictive!"
WASC is the way to go for vanilla cake using a mix. For chocolate, I recommend Darn Good Chocolate Cake from the Cake Mix Doctor. Both recipes are in the recipe section tab at the top of the page.
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