First Update On My Cars Character Cake...
Decorating By Helomom Updated 17 Mar 2007 , 10:00pm by Helomom
Ok for those who remember i was going to bake a cake for the very first time. To date I have only made one batch of cookies (that too the quaker oats vanishing oatmeal raisin cookies receipe on the box). Other than that i mainly use the oven to reheat.
I have filled my wilson cars pan just over 1/2 full with cookies and cream cake batter (pillsbury using receipe on their site). It is in the oven now baking... I am so nervous and i keep going to look at it (through the window). I also put some extra batter in ice cream cones...
My sons birthday party is this Sunday... Will update more as i go along.
Fingers crossed, Im gonna start checking at the 30min mark and then keep checking ever couple of minutes till the toothpick comes out clean.
I still haven't made my buttercream yet...
Oh i wanted to know, I have been "tasting" the batter. Is it supposed to taste so sweet. If the cake comes out sweet do I need to reduce the amount of sugar in the buttercream.
Wish me luck...
Oh my gosh, its already risen a little bit over the rim, but it hasn't spilled over.
Another question, why do the kids go crazy (almost 4yr old and 4 month old) when you try to do something that requires more of your attention.
The 4 yr old i am bribing with left over oreos but the baby oh man...
OH MY GOSH!
Every time I have a cake I need to do my kids go CRAZY!!! I think it's a conspiracy!!! 
Take a deep breath, you'll do fine!!! Just remember to let the cake cool COMPLETELY before you add the frosting. If not it will start melting everywhere (I did that my first cake 
). Other then that, just take your time and have fun with it!
GOOD LUCK!!! 
Thanks,
I was thinking of leaving the cake in the pan till tonight when my husband is home, then turning it out.
The cupcake cones are out, i couldn't wait and dove into one to see how the cake tastes... I thought it was a little sweet and a little gooey, (not sure if that needed to be in there longer), can i put them back in the oven???
Is pillsbury moist supreme white cake always this sweet, is that normal or is it because of the oreos.
Will the kids be ok with this amount of sweetness.???
Thanks, I think it might be done, its been 40mins and it can see it coming off the edges.
I think the gooeyness may be from the oreos. Im gonna take it out the oven, wait 10mins and then turn it onto the cooling rack.
Cupcake cones will get kid tested today at the park, my son has a playgroup today, hopefully they will like them. I'll post pictures as soon as I can (tonight or tommorow).
Thanks again
Ok I didn't get round to frosting it tonight, my DH and I couldn't resist breaking it open and eating it, so we did.
The taste wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, but still a little too sweet for my liking (gonna be perfect for the kids)... it was a little overcooked and hence a little bitter tasting at the crust. It was heavy and a little drier than I had expected... it was made with a moist supreme cake box so i thought it would be more moist.
Anyways critique aside I am very proud of my first cake and it is already half gone. I am gonna make the real one Saturday morning for my sons bday party and will decorate it in the evening. The party will be held on Sunday afternoon 30mins drive away. I also have a 12 by 9? pan, I wanted to sit the cake on top of it but it is a little too small so I will bake two more cakes in that pan and then place them side by side to make a larger sheet cake. I am also thinking I will keep the cookies and cream for the racecar and one of the halves of the sheet cake, but for the other side i will make a WASC cake, so the adults have something to chow down on.
Well thanks if you got this far... I really and truely am so excited about this...
Oh and is there a light (less sweet tasting) buttercream that i can use to frost the cake, bearing in mind it is a character cake, and will be outside (fridge is not big enough) overnight and into the next day, also transported... I live in NM and the weather here is getting into the 80's so it is pretty warm outside.
Thanks again...
Marthajo, I really loved your cars cake... If mine even slightly resembles that i will be very happy.
I thought about it and so far i have the idea of putting it on 2 9x12 cakes (1/2 sheet i believe) and decorating the "sheet" as simply as possible (maybe surround it with Oreos as tires or something).
I think i will have a speech bubble coming from the cars cake directly on the sheet cake that says Happy 4th ... .
Im gonna try to do it all tommorow. bake in the morning and decorate at night.
My only fear is that it is really warm here now and I am scared the buttercream on the cars cake will melt. I dont have space in the fridge for such a big cake.
I still have to make the buttercream so i will keep reading through the posts to find a receipe that works with these conditions.
Your best bet is the wilton recipe with the all crisco. Since it (Crisco) is stored at room temperature it will hold up the best. At least that is what I would suppose. Make sure you bake your cake first thing so it can have a long time to cool. If it is still warm at all the icing will just melt right off!
I use buttercream with crisco and butter even when it's hot weather. I also tend to make my buttercream fairly stiff. Personally, I think it tastes better with some butter in it!
Yes, it's pretty much impossible to get cakes done during the day if you have kids! I have three, but it's mainly my 1 year old that keeps me from getting work done....which is why I do most of my work at night. Although I do usually bake and make BC during the day. Someday I would love to be able to work during the day!!!!
Good luck with the cake,
Courtney
When you take your cake out of the oven, lay a dishtowel over it, then a cookie sheet with a book on top. This will help level it out (it's a tip from another thread here, works great!) If you use the all crisco recipe it comes out VERY sweet. I would do half butter half crisco. Also, if the edges look like they did on the last cake you may consider taking a serrated edge knife and leveling the bottom of the cake. This will cut off the overcooked parts and make it sit more evenly on the sheet cake. (If you decide to do this, you don't have to do the cookie sheet book thing)
One last thing.... you mentioned the weather. I find it much easier to frost my cake after it has been in the freezer for a little while (like 20 min) It seems to make a big difference, and if it is hot and humid this may really help you out. I hope all this makes sense. Good Luck with your cake!! Keep posting as you go along.
Thanks courtney, I am planning on baking and making bc this morning, then decorating tonight after the kids sleep. I should put emphasis on the word planning as I am sure it is not going to work out that way. I just dont want to end up decorating sunday morning... i just know if i do it then it will turn into a 4yr olds craft project lol.
Re the icing... I think the idea solution is to make crisco icing for just the car, but then the crisco butter icing for the sheet as they will be "simply" decorated. I am really scared the car will get messed up.
foxymomma, thanks for your tips, i have the cars cake in the oven right now... I like the cookie sheet idea and will definately use that if it doesn't burn.
I can't put the cake in the freezer as we dont even have enough space in there for an extra tub of ice cream 
.
Thanks also for telling me that the crisco only icing is more sweet... I think i will use a mix of butter and crisco and chance it. The temp in the house is a pretty warm 75 on our thermometer... I hope the night isn't too hot. It is going to be decorated tonight so i will only be out overnight and into the next day. Fingers crossed...
If all else fails I'll send DH to the car with it and get him to turn on the AC on full blast and sit with the cake 
Oh and one more difference in the cake... yesterday i mixed the ingredients with a whisk... today i got the kitchen aid artisan out of the box... it looked better going into the oven too.
I forgot to mention, if you don't already know to add a pinch of salt to your icing. It helps cut back on the overly sweet taste. Good Luck!!
OK so i have my character cake made, one 1/4 sheet made and the other 1/4 sheet is in the oven.
I just realised i made a mistake, the cars cake is an oreos cookies and cream cake.
The 9x13 is a WASC with a layer of chopped oreos in the middle (1/2 batter then cookies the rest of batter).
The other sheet in the oven now was supposed to be the same but OOPS ... I used the wrong box, instead of white cake i used butter cake mix ( All the time it was mixing it did smell different and i was just liking it too much to pay attention to that)... I also am not totally sure i put the flour in... I had forgotten as i was interupted in the middle of it... I reweighed the dry mix in the bowl and i think i already added the flour...
Has anyone tried the WASC reciepe with DH butter cake mix... I will post how it tastes as i also made a couple of cupcakes to taste...
I should probably post this in the disaster section but i figured it might not be so bad...
Good luck with your decorating, I just did a Cars cake with 2 9X13 cakes last week-end.
I do have a recipe for a great icing made with crisco that will stay better in your climate.
You might want to try it, the taste is not so sweet and everyone always asks me for it. My SIL eats it by itself & she does not like sugar... go figure!
1tbs egg white powder or meringue powder
3 1/2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond flavor
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
4 cups or 1 lb icing sugar
3/4 cup crisco.
In a electric mixer, mix 1/2 sugar with first 4 ing. until well blended & even. Add crisco & mix it migth have some little crisco clumps it's ok, then add the rest of sugar. Mix in the mixer about 5-8 minutes the clumps will go away and it will be nice an fluffly. Once done, cover it with a damp cloth to keep it from drying (bits are bad for decorating tips) or you can transfer to a pastic bowl with lid.
The taste is great, no too sweet. This is my decorating teacher's recipe. We all love it.
1 recipe cover 9X13 cake. You can double it easy.
It's really white and stands up great to warm weather. You could use 1/2 or all butter in this recipe but the icing goes beige and melts more in warmer weather.
Good Luck.
Paule
Thank you for the reciepe, actually i looked in our local walmart and one other grocery store and i couldn't find the egg white (meringue powder)... i am about to head out now and see if i can find it...
Also i tasted the cupcake made using the WASC reciepe but with butter cake mix in it (oops). It was ok... not as great as the first sheet, but not as bad as i was expecting...
My hubby is now wondering if i am just baking for our son's bday or some wedding lol... I think he is getting impressed with all this for a first effort.
I'll continue to update as i go along...
I am so happy to beable to share this with you guys... thanks again for joining me on my journey...
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