Help! birthday cake for 4 year olds

[alexia]

Help! If making a sheet cake for a four year old child's birthday party that will have 14 children and 10-15 adults, how large should the cake be? Do you have any sure fire recipes for a cake that size? Or for a kiddie cake does it make more sense to use mixes? My observation is half of it is left on the plates, anyway.

Would it be more sensible to make a kiddie cake and a separate adult cake? (I was thinking about a cheese cake for the adults.)

I'm flexible, so all suggestions are welcome.

[momoreg]

A half-sheet (what home cooks would refer to as a full sheet) 12x17", can feed 50-60, depending on how big the slices are. If you bake 2 pans full, you can have a 4-layer cake, half the size of the pan. You can send the extras home with guests.

You don't need to make 2 separate cakes. Adults are generally much easier to please with flavors than children are, so keep it simple. Nothing too sophisticated, and you'll be fine. Chocolate is usually the winner with all ages.

What sort of recipes are you interested in?

[m brown]

Go Figure, Cup Cakes!

They seem to be in vogue right now and a good one is hard to beat!
You can make up two or more flavors with butter cream on top and sprinkles with fun candles!
You can also make big bc flowers on top or put fresh flowers on top! (make sure u use edible, washed flowers)
Cheese cake individuals baked in cup cake pans and cups work well too!

[alexia]

Moromeg, I'm digesting your response and will check with the mother before answering. It partly depends on whether she wants to bake the cake or wants me to do it. If she does it I'm pretty sure it will be a mix.

MB, I'm with you on cupcakes as a good birthday treat, but they are on the agenda for the classroom birthday party. Mama's already made some decorations for the cupcakes. But she wants a birthday cake for the weekend party.

[alexia]

OK, spoke with Mama. She has a star shaped pan (rather thin aluminum) that accommodates a standard 2-layer-cake amount of batter. She prefers a white cake, and the Truth is out, she also prefers I bake it. So, I'm looking for something sure fire. My personal preference in cake runs to genoise or pound, but I'm open to all suggestions as long as it's foolproof in a tricky shaped pan.

I'm not so concerned with the cake recipe as I am in one for the icing. I usually can bake almost anything from a recipe, but I'm not sufficently familiar with the possibilities to know what my icing possibilities are. I need something I can just add some food coloring to decorate the cake.

For my own use I gravitate towards cakes that are lovely with just a dusting of sugar or cocoa, maybe a little jam between the layers, and a dollop of whipped cream or fruit sauce as garnish. That won't work here. My DIL wants some style (Kiddie) as well as taste.

[momoreg]

http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums/s...te+cake+recipe

Alexia,
Click on this link, and you'll see a previous thread on this subject. Down towards the botom of the page is my white cake recipe. It's versatile, and fairly easy to make. Most of all, it's yummy.

[thebighat]

Vanilla Chiffon Genoise

1 lb egg yolks
1.5 lb granulated sugar
6 oz vegetable oil
1 lb egg whites
18 oz sifted cake flour
1/2 oz baking powder
2.5 oz water
vanilla extract to taste

Beat the yolks and half the sugar to full volume.
Turn to medium speed and add the oil.
Whip the whites to a medium peak and and slowly add the sugar to make a meringue.
Sift the flour and baking powder.
Mix the water and the vanilla.
Add the flour and water to the yolks in thirds by hand. That is, one third of the flour, mix it in, add one half the water, one third of the flour, the remaining water, then the remaining flour. Make sure the flour is mixed in before adding the water or it will make small lumps.
Fold in the meringue.
Scale into pans that are greased only on the bottom, I think. I think this wants to have the sides to hang onto.
6 lbs of this batter makes a 12 inch, a 9 inch and a 6 inch pan, filled generously. Bake at 360 till done. It's tender without being crumbly and tastes good. Easy to work with.