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I’ve made many cakes over the past 18 years of parenting. I find baking in general stressful, and look for shortcuts where I can. The thing is, the kids really like it when I make the effort tocreate birthday cakes for them, and part of the enjoyment is looking for designs and seeing it come to life. I’m no expert, and I wanted to write this post to show how to make gorgeous, doable cakes using the Aussie classic mud cake that costs less than $5 at Woolworths.
What sort of cake do you want?
There are three main styles of cakes you can easily make using Woolies Mud Cakes.
One Layer Cakes
You can make a huge range of cakes with one just layer. The ones that are most effective are the lolly cakes, for example, the featured basketball cake I made for my son. It’s really a simple matter of using a bit of icing, surrounding the cake with Kit Kats or teevee snacks, and then decorating the top. Another idea is to cut out a number shape with baking paper, place it on the top of the cake, and cover the top with 100s & 1000s. Remove the stencilled baking paper to reveal the number underneath. Or, use a small plastic toy to decorate the top, for example, crushed Crunchie and Oreos and add a construction vehicle.
Two Layer Cakes
If you want that extra height, but don’t want to do a full three layers, a two-layered cake looks lovely. If you want that tiered look, cut the second cake a little smaller (use a plate as a guide). It’s sometimes easier to work with two layers, and it still looks effective. Ideas include placing a ribbon around the base of the cake and a cake topper on the top or making bunting flags out of tape and pressing 100s & 1000s around the base of the cake to make a border.
Three Layer Cakes
The three-tier look is so in right now, but it can be tricky getting the cakes the same size. That is why the pre-bought Woolies Mud Cakes are perfect for this. They are dense enough so it holds the layers well, and they are all the same size. I’ll share below some tricks and hacks for making three-layer cakes.
Tools for novices
I’m very much a novice when it comes to cake decorating, so I find it helpful to have a basic set of tools. For these cakes, you will need:
- Bowl
- Spatula – scrape out of bowls and apply icing to cake
- Icing Spatula – to smooth out icing
- Tablespoon – I use this also to plop icing on the cake
- Kitchen Knife – I find a regular kitchen knife useful for icing on the top
- Serrated Knife – for trimming the cake
- Other – it can also be useful to have kebab skewers on hand if the cake needs a bit more stability
Tip
Buy the cakes a few days before you want to use them and put them in the freezer. It makes it much easier to work with as the crumbs won’t fall off when icing.
Woolies Mud Cake Varieties
There are three different Woolies Mud Cake flavours available: Chocolate, Caramel and White Chocolate. It’s a good idea to consider what sort of cake you are creating to help you pick which one might work best. I tend to go for a different middle than the icing I am using (for example chocolate mud cake with vanilla icing). Or, you can use all three for the inside layered look.
Aussie Favourites Cake
This is a fun-looking cake and it has that Aussie-novelty factor.
What you need:
- A variety of Aussie favourite biscuits and chocolates
- 3 x Woolies Mud Cakes (I used White Chocolate for this cake)
- 2 x tubs of Betty Crocker Chocolate Frosting (or make your own)
I’ve written out the instructions below, plus there is a video if that is helpful.
Instructions
-
- Freeze cakes a day or so before using.
- Remove from freezer and trim the icing off to ensure the top is as level as possible. Place icing in a bowl for later.
- Repeat this process for all three layers.
- Once the icing has thawed a little, blend in a food processor or with beaters. The icing glaze is one of the best parts, and this can be used for the middle sections and helps the layers stick together well. Tip: if you find the mixture too thick, add a little icing.
- Use the filling between each layer.
- Do a crumb coat on the outside of the cake. Don’t worry too much about how it looks at this point. Put icing all over the cake and then use the Icing Spatula to smooth the outside.
- Place in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
- Do another coat of icing around the edges and smooth out with the Icing Spatula.
- Use a regular kitchen knife to fluff up the icing on the top, or if you want a smooth top, use the Icing Spatula.
- Decorate the top!
Tips:
- Place large pieces at the back and work your way forward.
- Try and use a variety of shapes and sizes (for example, round, rectangle and square).
- For larger pieces, it is helpful to cut a small section into the top of the cake and press the piece in. You may also need to use a kebab stick at the back to assist with stability.
Flower and Strawberries
I particularly love this style, and it’s so easy to decorate! I went with more of a naked icing style.
What you need:
- 3 x Woolies Mud Cakes (I used Caramel for this cake)
- 2 x tubs of Betty Crocker Vanilla Frosting (or make your own)
- Strawberries/Flowers
Tip:
check out the flower section at Woolies to see what is on clearance
o think about what colour scheme you are going for and look for flowers that compliment
Instructions
The instructions are pretty much the same, except the icing part is slightly modified.
- Freeze cakes a day or so before using.
- Remove from freezer and trim the icing off to ensure the top is as level as possible. Place icing in a bowl for later.
- Repeat this process for all three layers.
- Once the icing has thawed a little, blend in a food processor or with beaters. The icing glaze is one of the best parts, and this can be used for the middle sections and helps the layers stick together well. Tip: if you find the mixture a little too thick, add a little icing.
- Use the filling between the layers.
- Do a very thin crumb coat on the outside of the cake. Don’t use too much icing.
- Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Using the Icing Spatula carefully scrape icing over the cake, leaving sections un-iced.
- Use regular kitchen knife to fluff up the icing on the top, or if you want a smooth top, use the Icing Spatula.
- Decorate the top! Use a combination of flowers and berries, just flowers or just berries.
Tips:
- Trim the flowers to a short stem.
- It’s easy to play around with this style without wrecking the cake, so experiment with placement.
- Cover the entire top with flowers or berries, or it looks beautiful to decorate along one quadrant (as featured below)
- A pile of strawberries in the middle is simple and gorgeous.
Flowers & Strawberries
Just Flowers
Just Strawberries
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