Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi – I’m helping a friends daughter make a football shirt cake and as she’s quite new and very young (15) at baking I was wondering if anyone had a foolproof chocolate Madeira cake recipe she could use – she’s making it in an oblong tin – 13 inch by 9 inch and 3 inches deep.

It will be filled with chocolate buttercream and covered in fondant. She also needs an edible motive for the teams badge if anyone knows the best place to get one?

Thank you all in advance

Tania x

Hi Tania

Any maderia cake recipe can be made into a chocolate madeira. Some of the flour can be subsituted with cocoa powder to change the recipe. Take a peek here for the amount of cocoa powder to use:

Two questions

Use some hot water and make a paste with the cocoa powder, add it to the cake batter. Buy a good quality cocoa powder like Green and Blacks or Sainsbury’s fair trade, it should be 100% cocoa and not mistaken for drinking chocolate. Asda do a Bournville cocoa powder, I have tried it but it’s not really suitable.
I think the easiest madeira recipe is one which uses just self raising flour although I make one which uses some plain flour too. Here is an easy recipe for a large cake:
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/15645/large-vanilla-madeira-cake.aspx
Convert it for the size tin you have using the cakometre here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/how-to-work-out-what-size-cake-tin-to-use
For edible image/motif try your local cake decorating supply stores or a local cake decorator who might have an edible printer. Asda used to do edible printing but I have a feeling they do it on cakes which are bought only in their store. You could ask just in case it varies from store to store. Failing that, lots of online cake decorating supply stores provide this service, here’s a good one: http://www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk/edible-imaging

Hope this helps but if you need any more information just post again. x
EDIT

Cocoa powder for baking is mostly found in the baking aisle and not with the drinking chocolates. Again it may vary from one supermarket to another.

Thank you madeitwith love – a great help as always!

Do you have any idea where I can get the fondant in the colours of the west ham strip? I normally use renshaw but happy to use something else if I can get the colours!

Hi again – I’ve just looked at the cake converter but it doesn’t seem to have the conversion for from a round to a rectangle.

I’ve just converted my chocolate madeira which I use (going on cubic capacity)(quaint cakes recipe) and going from an 8inch to a 13inch x 9 inch I would have to double the recipe – this would be 16 eggs!! does this sound correct for a large bake?

Looks like I would have to bake for 4 or 5 hours as well (the 8 inch I do on 130 for 3 hours)

Thank you again!

Hi Tania

The ready reckoner converter doesn’t do rectangle tins thats why I suggested using the cakometre, it’s here:
http://www.cakebaker.co.uk/apps-for-bakers/baking-tin-size-conversion-calculator/
This will do a rectangle cake tin.

Bake the cake in two halves rather than in one go. Converting from a round to rectangle doesn’t necessarily mean the cake has to be baked for a twice as long. The batter is spread across a shallower surface so it bakes more evenly. My blog here might help:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/baking-problems-solutions

To answer your sugarpaste colour question – I’ve just googled the west ham kit to have a look at the colour. I can’t really make out exactly what it is. If you are familiar with the colour stick to a paste you know rather than change. The only one which I think you might like is the new Carmas Massa colours. I bought the white at the show, I’am well impressed with it. Here are the Carmas Massa colour:
http://www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=carmas+Massa+fondant
I’ve got say it is the very best sugarpaste I have ever used, normally I’m a Satin Ice girl
I won’t be going back to Satin ice or any other now.
Did you manage to get your edible motif?

Taniajf, just wanted to recommend my online edible print supplier – have used them countless times and they have never let me down
www.eatyourphoto.co.uk

Hope it goes well

Thank you! Madeitwithlove – your blog was a great help and we have baked it in 2 inch rectangles – actually only using one as it needs to be quite flat. Made them yesterday and they are in the freezer ready to be taken out tomorrow for crumb coating and covering on Saturday. Thank you once again x