Cake making!

[Barmaid]

It's number one step daughter's birthday in 3 weeks and I am tasked with making the cake. She wants a chocolate cake and has asked for me to surprise her as to the "theme". I'm therefore making a cat for her.

Can you lovely ABers please suggest

1) a really nice chocolate cake recipe - I was hoping to do something like a whisked sponge rather than a bog standard chocolate victoria sandwich since that would be lighter and I hope would keep better. I need to be able to cut it though to make the various shapes I have made a pattern for.

2) What I can glaze the cake with to stop crumbs? I am icing with buttercream but I know that sponge cake can crumble when icing. I thought that something like an apricot glaze (which I would normally use for a fruit cake would be too heavy and stand out with the flavour). But am open to better suggestions.

TIA

[woofgang]

with chocolate cake, how about sieved cherry jam?

[jb190281]

hi barmaid, have a look at this

http://www.bbcgoodfoo...timate-chocolate-cake

[redcrx]

if you dont want the cake to crumble when spreading icing have you considered piping it instead? cover it with small rosettes of icing

[tweenyb]

my friends twins have just had a cat litter cake for their 12th and loved it... i know it sounds mad but look at this link - just replace german cake mix with normal cake mix if you cant find it at the super market
http://goodcats.com/catlittercake.html


although knowing not everyone would want to eat it (this was a mistake everyone tucked in) she also made a choccy sponge cake - this got demolished the day after the birthday

[redcrx]

eewwwww that looks horrible doesnt it lol

[BBBE99]

Ask my Mum, she made a lovely sandwich-spongey cake (Just try not leave it in the fridge)...