Navy Blue Icing & A Cake That I Can Stack?
Decorating By hannah141627 Updated 4 Aug 2011 , 7:35am by DivaJai
Hey all,
So today myself and my aunty were trying to make a tardis cake: 
Yet we ran into two problems -
One) The frosting we made was baby blue not navy blue (we tried adding a whole pot of blue colouring to one tub of betty crocker vanilla frosting)
Two) My original idea to make a square cake, cut into four pieces and stack failed because the cake, far from stacking. just crumbled into lots of pieces. We used a betty crocker vanilla cake mix for this and baked it in an 8" square tin.
Can anyone offer any suggestions as to how to fix these problems?
Thanks x
The problem is I can't get the cakes to stack at all...?
When you say cut into four pieces , do you mean you are trying to make it into a 4 layer cake using one 8 inch square cake?
Yes that's exactly what I mean basically my cake needs to be quite tall to be like the tardis in the picture.
if you place each layer of cake on top of eachother with some filling or icing in between you shouldn't have a probably. You may want to use a rod or dowel in the center since it will be pretty tall. What is happening when you stack them?
That's what I tried to do but the individual quarters just broke apart into lots of tiny pieces when I tried to move them.
it is easier to cut a cake that has been cooled completely - when cutting/carving a cake I partially freeze it and it keeps it more solid while manuvering it.
oh..ok!...freeze the cakes..
you can handle them better, they will thaw as you work on them...I do it all the time..my cakes are frozen until the day of the event or the night of the event...alot of bakeries freeze their cakes while working on such creations like this one..and like mrsg1111 said, you can drive a dowel rod through them also..but not saying that you have, but if they are crumbling on you and they normally dont do that..maybe it was baked too long...if you baked them the way you always do...freeze them, separate them with waxpaper so they wont stick to each other or to the board you freeze them on..take them out, stack them, ice it while it is frozen , then dowel rod it.
Freeze the cake you bake and start filling and stacking while still frozen. Then crumb coat and dowel it.
You do not have to dye an entire tub of icing...and BTW I'd make my own buttercream instead of using canned. It won't crust and you'll need it to crust if you're planning to add any other decor to it.
I frost all my highly colored cakes with regular plain buttercream and let that frosting harden in the fridge. Then I layer on a thin layer of the color frosting...maybe a couple of layers to get the coverage I need. You won't be turning people's tongues and teeth blue that way and it won't taste bitter.
Navy blue is extremely hard to color. This is what I would do. I would go ahead and get the frosting dyed as dark as I could and frost my cake. (Remember to do a couple of thin layers of colored frosting).
Let it harden in the refrigerator and then take your navy blue gel color and some lemon extract or vodka to loosen up the gel and paint the navy blue directly over what you've frosted. Work lightly and work fast --you might have to put back in the fridge a couple of times while you're working to hard the BC again. I've painted on BC and it works fine and it can give you that dark navy color you're wanting.
Freeze the cake you bake and start filling and stacking while still frozen. Then crumb coat and dowel it.
You do not have to dye an entire tub of icing...and BTW I'd make my own buttercream instead of using canned. It won't crust and you'll need it to crust if you're planning to add any other decor to it.
I frost all my highly colored cakes with regular plain buttercream and let that frosting harden in the fridge. Then I layer on a thin layer of the color frosting...maybe a couple of layers to get the coverage I need. You won't be turning people's tongues and teeth blue that way and it won't taste bitter.
Navy blue is extremely hard to color. This is what I would do. I would go ahead and get the frosting dyed as dark as I could and frost my cake. (Remember to do a couple of thin layers of colored frosting).
Let it harden in the refrigerator and then take your navy blue gel color and some lemon extract or vodka to loosen up the gel and paint the navy blue directly over what you've frosted. Work lightly and work fast --you might have to put back in the fridge a couple of times while you're working to hard the BC again. I've painted on BC and it works fine and it can give you that dark navy color you're wanting.
This sounds awesome thanks!
Next question do you have a recipe for making my own frosting?
& any recommendations for either colouring or navy blue gel colour brands?
carmijok, you have cake on your post of bc iced cakes where you painted them? I would love to start doing that concept...i have carpal tunnel and cannot use fondant, so i have to smooth all my cakes to get that fondant look but i wanted to start trying new things as far as stenciling goes....you can respond back on my private message if you like since this is originally hannah's posting.
[quote="carmijok"
This sounds awesome thanks!
Next question do you have a recipe for making my own frosting?
& any recommendations for either colouring or navy blue gel colour brands?
I'll give you my recipe.
1-8ounce block of cream cheese
2 sticks (8 ounces) of real butter (I use salted)
2 lbs of pure cane powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese and butter until very smooth and creamy (use whisk attachment) but don't put the setting on high...just medium.
Add powdered sugar slowly. (I sometimes sift mine if there are any lumps in it.)
Beat until smooth and creamy. If it's too stiff (it shouldn't be) add a touch of water. And that's it!
Also, I use Americolor gel food coloring. If you don't have a cake supply store handy, Hobby Lobby sells Americolors. HTH!
Carmijok what type of frosting is that? It sounds yummy
... also does it crust or work well in high heat?
Yes it crusts very well. It holds up surprisingly well in warm situations, but it should never be outside in this heat. I always keep my cakes in the refrigerator and deliver a cold cake so it has time to come to room temp slowly since it usually sits out for a few hours before people cut into it.
It is very rich frosting, and while it has some cream cheese in it, it's not a cream cheese frosting. It's the frosting the bakery I worked for used. The owner closed up shop a couple of years ago because she got tired of running a business. But this frosting was what her customers loved. Me too.
Carmijok what type of frosting is that? It sounds yummy
... also does it crust or work well in high heat?Yes it crusts very well. It holds up surprisingly well in warm situations, but it should never be outside in this heat. I always keep my cakes in the refrigerator and deliver a cold cake so it has time to come to room temp slowly since it usually sits out for a few hours before people cut into it.
It is very rich frosting, and while it has some cream cheese in it, it's not a cream cheese frosting. It's the frosting the bakery I worked for used. The owner closed up shop a couple of years ago because she got tired of running a business. But this frosting was what her customers loved. Me too.
I am definitely going to try this! Thanks for the info and the recipe
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%