I am a whiz at coming up with ideas for a themed cake(or at least scouting around here for ideas) but I am making a cake for BIL's birthday for Saturday and I am at a loss for a good simple design that is masculine without a "theme" like motrorcycles etc. I was thinking maybe chocolate buttercream with white scrolls, but that doesn't sound masculine. Any ideas for a manly cake? I would like to stick with all buttercream for this cake. Thanks in advance. And yes I did a couple searches but wasn't inspired by what I found yet 
In my husband's opinion, anything that is made of chocolate is manly (even chocolate kiss roses). Get some ideas from the groom cake album and just tone it down a notch. I LOVE chocolate basketweave cakes-with a simple monogram or lettering. Also, if a few chocolate covered strawberries are added, it just kicks it up a notch. Have fun!
what about piroutte cookies around the edges and filled and iced with whipped milk chocolate ganache like this:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=melysa&cat=0&pos=40
I agree that chocolate icing is always good for a man's birthday cake.
How about using both chocolate and vanilla icing, and piping a basketweave in two colors? I would then do a basic shell border in the chocolate icing.
Or maybe use a 2B basketweave tip, and pipe the top to look like a checkerboard. Make matching chocolate covered cherries, some dark chocolate, some white chocolate.
Fill with strawberry fruit filling.
Theresa
All very excellent and oh so manly ideas! I was wanting to avoid making MMF this cake, but I think I'd like to try maybe melting chocolate and piping diamonds onto wax paper and then using them as appliques on teh sides of the cake, I love harlequin design on a man's cake. But I also really like that "combed" look too! Thanks!
I bet your combined idea would look really good on a square cake -- the combed sides with the diamonds on the sides.
Theresa
I really like chocolate for a man with the basketweave. Black and white theme is also good for a man. Your idea for a harlequin in black and white or with the choc sounds great to me.
I'm facing a similar dilemma for a cake this weekend. The customer wanted 1 layer chocolate, 1 layer vanilla, so I'm going with the whole theme & putting crushed oreos around the sides. She wants it to read simply "Happy Birthday Daddy," so that'll take up the top. I think crushed stuff on the sides is a quick & easy way out of this situation.
ok...speaking as a man...
i'll take two chocolate layers filled w/ chocolate mousse and crumbcoated w/ chocolate
now to send me very happy on my way...
cover in chocolate ganache
then stick mocha filled pirouettes all around the sides a
nd then fill the top where they go above the edge of the cake w/ crushed oreos
add message in white chocolate frosting and any embellishments as well.
Come on up, Doug! We got cake, we got milk, bring your own fork!
Theresa
I did a cake for a guy at work that I hardly knew. No idea of hobbies or what he liked. I just made a chocolate cake, iced in garden-variety chocolate buttercream. Plain shell borders. But, I pressed chopped, toasted hazelnuts onto the side. And piped rosettes of more buttercream on top. I coated whole toasted hazelnuts with luster dust (an idea I stole from somewhere else...can't remember where) and put one of those in the center of each rosette. It was a big hit. Not too frilly...but special enough for a birthday.
the cake I made last night (see 'Blackie's cake' in my photos) would be really easy to modify to a monogram of any vehicle a guy is into. It's the first time I have done a cake for a male and heard later that he wouldn't let anyone cut it, usually it's the kids that do that!
So I made the man cake! I was all gung-ho to make chocolate transfers in a diamond pattern, but ran out of steam Friday night, so instead I did this: Behold the picture below. I went with a cherry cordial theme, his favorite candy. Its Devil's Food Cake with cherry/vanilla butter cream filling topped with chocolate butter cream made extra rich with a splash of chocolate liquor. I then drizzled melted chocolate all over and went with the cherry cordial theme with red accents.
Ok well nuts I can't add the attachment! Grrr, Look in my photos please! Thanks for all the suggestions!
ohhhh you wanted a cake WITHOUT a theme!!! sorry I really should have read your post more closely. Nice cake, looks (and sounds) yummy! Couldn't help noticing I seem to have borrowed your racing flag theme on my latest cake!
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