Well, you may have seen on Instagram or Twitter recently that I decided to make my boyfriend, Cameron’s 21st birthday cake – admittedly I was terrified it would go wrong!
He had one requirement, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate and I had great, duck shaped, plans! A quick explanation re. ducks, Cameron exclaimed one day to me that he would like a pet duck, unfortunately we aren’t allowed pets at the flat so instead me and my sister got 84 rubber ducks for him instead! Check out the Twitter thread and his first reaction here.
I started off by making the chocolate decorations – bubble wrap chocolate, solid chocolate discs and a chocolate curl. They’re super simple to make too!
Chocolate Decorations:
Bubble Wrap Chocolate:
- Place bubble wrap (any size) onto a flat tray / container.
- Melt chocolate, I used white first then milk, then swirl across the bubble wrap till covered.
- Set in the fridge.
- Break off into bubble wrap chocolate shards! Enjoy!
Solid Chocolate Discs:
- I’m not 100% what the container I used is called but anything similar will work, even an ice cube tray!
- Melt chocolate and drizzle over the container, as shown above I used white on one side and milk on the other – this would create the drizzle effect on top of the chocolates.
- Fill the containers with the opposite chocolate to the drizzle.
- Set in the fridge, I put mine in the freezer for about half hour to get them out of the container easier.
- Enjoy
I also drizzled some melted chocolate onto a piece of grease-proof paper and placed into an old kitchen roll tube – it makes the chocolate curl as it sets! You can see it on the finished cake later!
The Cake Itself:
The cake recipe I use is from one of my Mum’s recipe books and it’s super simple and quick to make.
I obviously made two chocolate cakes and I was very happy with how they turned out in the end.
If you want to make your own I have added the recipe and ingredients below.
Ingredients:
- 175g Soft Margarine.
- 175g Caster Sugar.
- 3 Eggs.
- 175g Self-Raising Flour.
- 1 1/2 x 5ml spoons Baking Powder.
- 2 x 15ml spoons Cocoa Powder.
Recipe:
- Set the oven to 160 degrees C (325 degrees F).
- Line 2 x 18cm sandwich tins with grease-proof paper.
- Put margarine, sugar, sifted flour, eggs and baking powder into a bowl and mix till smooth.
- Add extras (aka cocoa powder).
- Spoon the mix equally into the sandwich tins, leaving a small indentation in the middle of the cake mixes ensures it cooks level.
- Bake for 25-30 mins, then leave to cool.
Decorating Time:
Now, this was the most exciting bit! Having already pre-made the chocolate decorations to ensure they set in time, I just waited for the cakes to cool and then got to work. Making a simple buttercream of margarine and icing sugar, with cocoa powder giving it the chocolate flavour I spread that on the middle, top and sides of both cakes!
Can you see all the toppings in the background?
Obviously, from Cameron’s request it was chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate so I obliged, placing white and milk chocolate fingers alternately around the edges of the cake and layering the top of the cake with the chocolate decorations I made previously, chocolate buttons, malteasers and of course, a chocolate duck!
The Big Reveal!
After waking up at 8.30am on the Saturday morning, by 3.30pm the cake was finished, I was covered in chocolate and very happy with my finished creation! I surprised Cameron with the cake at a family BBQ to celebrate his 21st birthday on Sunday and we all had the best time – despite the torrential rain!
It’s safe to say, he definitely enjoyed the cake although he may have exclaimed suddenly when he caught a glimpse of his little duck friend – I have ‘Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shop’ in Worthing to thank for him!
Let me know what your favourite part of the cake is in the comments below! Thank for your reading!
Oh my gosh, I love this!! Did you make the chocolate duck?
Thank you! Sadly, I’m not that clever, I cheated and bought that fella!
Well either way, I just love it! My favorite cake is also chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate so it looks divine!
Ah thank you! 😀 xx
That is EPIC! Your boyfriend is a lucky guy…^_^
Ahhhh thank you! 😀 I’m just relieved he liked it! 😀
Love your posts, so yummy!!
Thank you lovely! x
You are welcome
That looks insane! My twenty-first is coming up, so I might REALLY SUBTLY send this to some people and hope they get the hint! 😂
Hahaha omg that’s the best idea! I hope they make you one! 😀 Thanks lovely xx
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing!! I love the chocolate decorations you made, I’ve never thought of using bubble wrap before!
Stephanie ❤️ http://iamstephaniejay.co.uk
Thank you so much! You should definitely give it a try, it’s so easier to make and also so much fun to play with after the chocolate sets too! 😀 xx
Ah this is so cute! I’ve never seen that bubble wrap trick before but I’m definitely going to have to try it for myself, what a cool effect!
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
Thank you Soph, I’ve tried it only a handful of times before (but with smaller bubbles) but think I prefer it with bigger ones! 😀 Plus – you get the fun of popping the bubble wrap after! xx
Such a lovely idea and outcome! 💛
Thank you so much! x
Hi Imogen, OMH Girl I Love this! I’m crazy about chocolate, cake.
Thanks lovely! You should definitely make this then!
Great post! The cake looks absolutely incredible, you did such a good job 🙂
Thanks so much! 😀
I love everything about this cake! I was instantly intrigued when I saw the picture 😍 would love to say I will be baking something similar but it would end in disaster! X
Thank you so much! <3 Haha don't worry I have had many a disaster in my time! xx
Omg this looks amazing! You’re so talented!! I bet he loved it so much. I would definitely be too scared to take on such a huge cake as I have only ever made cupcakes and little cakes for me and my family.
Livslittleblog.com
Thank you gorgeous, he couldn’t believe it! Oh you should definitely have a go, maybe not for an occasion in case it goes wrong but it’s so much fun! x
This looks so good Imogen, you’re very talented xx
Thank you lovely! xx
You’re SO talented! I wish I could do this… Keep it up <3
https://octoberslallu.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much! <3
This looks like such a labor of love, and I love how it turned out! Imogen, you need to be a cake maker & decorator!
Thank you!!! Ahhhh I don’t know about that! <3
That cake is amazing! I really cant pick a favorite part! I hope he had a great birthday & loved that cake!😀💛👏🤗
Ahhh thank you, he had a fab birthday, thank you! The cake lasted about two seconds before it was devoured! 😀 <3
I love the fact that this is all chocolate. And that bubble wrap chocolate shards is genius!! I feel like that’s something you see in Masterchef 😍 Awesome post!
Kate x | https://allthetrinkets.wordpress.com
Ahhhh you’re so kind – thank you so much, of course it had to be chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! <3
Whaaat! This is amazing! Nice work 🙂
Thank you! x
This cake looks amazing! I think my favourite element is the little duck.
Thank you, that was one of my favourite bits too!