Pirate birthday party cake
" data-orig-size="3922,5698" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-image-title="Pirate birthday cake" data-image-caption="" aperture="aperture" />Ahoy! The inspiration for this birthday cake comes from the official birthday cake handbook of the eighties (and beyond), “The Australian Women’s Weekly Kids’ Birthday Cakes”. How many of you can remember paging through this book as children, ogling all of the beautiful birthday creations? Talk about nostalgia. My copy of the book is not the original but a later version, however it but still features its legendary bakes like the train cake, the princess castle and the swimming pool (if you know, you know).
How to make a pirate birthday party cake
" data-permalink="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/2024/11/16/how-to-make-a-pirate-ship-cake/img_5364/" data-orig-size="3907,5259" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-image-title="Pirate birthday cake" data-image-caption="" aperture="aperture" />My kids love paging through this book, just as I did. My son has had his eye on the pirate ship cake for nearly a year and was absolutely certain that this was the cake he wanted me to recreate for his party. Gulp. Would the cake be a triumph or would it be a sinking ship? (A sunken treasure ship was legit my Plan B!) The instructions in the cake book seemed pretty straight forward, and although fiddly cake decorating isn’t my forte this landlubber was willing to give it a bash.
How to make a pirate birthday party cake
" data-orig-size="3819,5285" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-image-title="Pirate birthday cake" data-image-caption="" aperture="aperture" />I adapted the recipe slightly according to the pan and the decorations that I could find. I used a lasagne tin that I found at Checkers (36.5 x 25 cm) to bake the cake and it was perfect. My son was keen on a combination of chocolate and vanilla cake, but you could bake two chocolate or two vanilla cakes if you prefer. There will be some offcuts during assembling, these will freeze well and be delicious on another day.
Themed birthday cakes are a labor of love, but I so enjoy making them for my children every year, and this pirate ship cake was no different. They’re far from perfect, but luckily our little party guests don’t seem to notice the imperfections and to see the excitement on their faces makes it all worth it. My son did most of the decorating on this one and enjoyed the process tremendously, so I call that a success.
Cake template for pirate cake
" data-orig-size="1160,1400" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-image-title="Cake template for pirate cake" data-image-caption="" height="917" width="760" data-medium-file="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cake-cutting-1160-x-1400.jpg?w=249" loading="lazy" data-permalink="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/2024/11/16/how-to-make-a-pirate-ship-cake/cake-cutting-1160-x-1400/" data-orig-file="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cake-cutting-1160-x-1400.jpg" data-image-meta="{" alt="" aperture="aperture" />
How to create a pirate birthday cake step by step
" data-orig-size="1700,1400" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-image-title="Step by step pirate cake construction" data-image-caption="" height="626" width="760" data-medium-file="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cake-construction-1700-x-1400.jpg?w=300" loading="lazy" data-permalink="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/2024/11/16/how-to-make-a-pirate-ship-cake/cake-construction-1700-x-1400/" data-orig-file="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cake-construction-1700-x-1400.jpg" data-image-meta="{" alt="" aperture="aperture" />
How to create a pirate birthday cake step by step
" data-orig-size="1160,1400" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-image-title="Step by step pirate cake construction" data-image-caption="" height="917" width="760" data-medium-file="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cake-construction-1160-x-1400.jpg?w=249" loading="lazy" data-permalink="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/2024/11/16/how-to-make-a-pirate-ship-cake/cake-construction-1160-x-1400/" data-orig-file="https://cupcakesandcouscous.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cake-construction-1160-x-1400.jpg" data-image-meta="{" alt="" aperture="aperture" />PIRATE SHIP CAKE
- Servings: Perfect for a band of hungry pirates!
Vanilla cake
- 3 large eggs
- 250 ml (1 cup) sunflower oil
- 250 ml (1 cup) warm full cream milk
- 10 ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
- 250 g cake flour
- 340 g castor sugar
- 50 g cornflour
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 1.25 ml (¼ tsp) fine salt
Chocolate cake
- 3 large eggs
- 250 ml (1 cup) sunflower oil
- 250 ml (1 cup) warm full cream milk
- 10 ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
- 210 g cake flour
- 340 g castor sugar
- 40 g cocoa
- 50 g cornflour
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 1.25 ml (¼ tsp) fine salt
Decorations
- 3 x 10 cm white cardboard squares
- 3 x 8 cm white cardboard squares
- 1 x Jolly Roger image printed on cardboard (6.5 x 8.5 cm)*
- 5 wooden skewers
- 30 g dark chocolate, for gangplank
- 10 Curly Wurly chocolate bars
- jelly beans, to decorate (optional)
- 8 round jelly sweets (for portholes)
Icing
- 375 g butter, room temperature
- 750 g icing sugar
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) warm milk
- 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
- super black gel food colouring
1.) To prepare the vanilla cake preheat the oven to 170ºC. Line the base of a 36.5 x 25 cm cake tin with baking paper and grease well.
2.) Place the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to whisk until combined.
3.) Sift the flour, sugar, cornflour, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Whisk until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely.
4.) To prepare the chocolate cake preheat the oven to 170ºC. Line the base of a 36.5 x 25 cm cake tin with baking paper and grease well.
5.) Place the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to whisk until combined.
6.) Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, cornflour, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Whisk until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely.
7.) While the cakes are cooling prepare the sails by threading the cardboard squares onto three skewers. Two skewers should have one large and one small square each, the other skewer should have the Jolly Roger at the top with a small and large square underneath.
* I used a template provided with the cookbook, but you can easily find an image on the web.
8.) To make the gangplank line a small baking tray with baking paper. Melt the chocolate, pour onto the tray and spread into an even layer. Set aside for a few minutes. Once the chocolate has started setting but is still slightly pliable cut a rectangle shape into the chocolate. Allow to cool completely before removing. (I recommend making an extra plank in case you have a breakage.)
9.) To prepare the icing place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until soft and lighter in color. Sift in half of the icing sugar and mix in. Sift in the remaining icing sugar and mix. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Gradually add the gel colouring a few drops at a time to color. Keep in mind that the color will darken and intensify on standing.
10.) To assemble the cake: use a sharp serrated knife to cut each cake as shown above. You should have two bigger pieces roughly 29 x 13 cm, and four smaller pieces roughly 13 x 7cm. Two of the smaller pieces can be popped in the freezer as you won’t need these for the cake.
11.) Assemble the cake as shown above. Place one large piece of cake on top of the other with a small amount of icing in between the layers. Place a smaller piece of cake on each end, one flush with the edge (this is the front of the ship) and one jutting out slightly over the back (this will be the back). Place two skewers into the back piece of cake to help secure it, and trim them at cake level. Use a sharp serrated knife to carefully cut the front of the cake into a point, as in the picture above.
Tip – don’t let the back piece of cake jut out too much or it might become unstable. Just a small overhang is fine.
12.) Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of icing. Place the cake in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill and harden. Go over the cake again with another layer of icing, and attach the Curly Wurlys, jelly beans and round portholes sweets while the icing is still soft. Gently push the gangplank into one side of the cake and add the sails. Yo-ho-ho!
