Fire Engine Cake Recipes

FIRE ENGINE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and base line a 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, almond extract, flour, ground almonds and milk and beat very well until light and pale in colour. Spread into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35-40 mins. Remove and allow to become completely cold before cutting and icing.
• To make the butter icing, put the butter into a bowl and beat well. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until smooth and creamy. Cut the cake in half to make two rectangles each 10x20cm. Take one half and cut into two pieces measuring 10x14cm and 10x6cm. Using a little butter icing, attach the 10x6cm piece to one end of the 10x20cm piece. This is the cab part of the engine. Take the 10x14cm piece and slice in half horizontally. Spread a little butter icing on the main part of the fire engine (behind the cab) and stick on one of the 10x14cm pieces. The remaining piece of cake is not required.
• Using a sharp knife, slice the front of the cab at an angle where the windows will be placed. Spread the whole cake with butter icing. Roll out the red fondant and use to cover the fire engine. Trim around the base.
• Roll out all but 50g of the grey icing to an irregular strip and place on a 30cm cake board. Carefully lift the fire engine onto the board.
• Unroll about half the liquorice from each of the four wheels. Attach the strips, using a little of the red icing, to make a double border around the base of the cake. Again using the icing, attach the four wheels. Use leftover liquorice to make strips to mark the centre of the road.
• Roll out the reserved grey icing and cut out 6 shutters and two wing mirrors. Attach to the cake using red icing. Use the white icing to make two front and two side windows for the cab. Attach with red royal icing and pipe around each window and pipe the cab doors.
• Stick on dolly mixtures to represent headlights, roof lights and ladder supports. Make a ladder from the chocolate covered biscuit or mint sticks, chopping and sticking with icing. Attach to the top of the engine with icing.
• Stick together the two party rings and attach to the side of the fire engine. Roll the yellow fondant icing into a long sausage and wrap around the biscuits to represent the hose, snake out onto the board and then make a small circle of yellow icing and stick on the end for the nozzle. Colour the remaining royal icing a pale blue colour. Thin with a little water if necessary and drizzle onto the cake board to represent water flowing from the hose.
• Using a little blue colouring thinned with water, paint the windows with a fine paint brush. Using black colouring, paint windscreen wipers on the front windows.

FIRE AND ICE CAKE

Steps:

• The habanero peppers can be roasted on a gas stove top or in an oven. Before roasting the peppers, turn on the kitchen or stove exhaust fan.
• To roast the peppers on a gas stove top, soak 3 wooden skewers in water until saturated. Skewer 1 pepper and hold over a medium-high flame. Slowly rotate the pepper over the flame until the skin is blackened and blistered. Repeat with the remaining peppers and skewers. After each pepper is roasted place in plastic bag covered with a dish towel to steam, which will help to remove the skins.
• To roast the peppers in the oven, place an oven rack in the highest position and preheat the broiler. Put the peppers on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler. Using long handled metal tongs to rotate the peppers and broil until the skin is blackened and blistered. After each pepper is roasted place in plastic bag covered with a dish towel to steam, which will help to remove the skins.
• Wearing gloves, remove skin, the veins, and the seeds from the habaneros. (When removing the skins, it's important to wear double layer of latex gloves or else your hands burn.)
• To make the paste, blend the habaneros with the sugar using a mortar and pestle or a food processor (the latter is much faster).
• Combine the habanero paste into the softened vanilla ice cream and refreeze until firm but still spreadable
• Assemble cake in springform pan by alternating cake, lime sorbet, cake, habanero ice cream, cake and freeze until firm (8 hours or overnight).
• Garnish with powered sugar or whipped cream and sprinkles.

FIRE ENGINE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray bottoms and sides of three 8x4-inch loaf pans.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake 27 to 34 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans; place rounded sides up on cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Spoon 1/2 cup of the frosting into small bowl; stir in enough black food color to make gray. Place 1/2 cup of the remaining white vanilla frosting in small resealable plastic freezer bag; cut small tip off 1 corner of bag. Spoon remaining white vanilla frosting into large bowl; stir in enough red food color until desired red color.
• Trim rounded tops from each cake to make flat surface. Cut cakes and arrange pieces on platter as shown in diagram (template can be found under the Tips below), attaching pieces with thin layer of red frosting, to form fire engine. Spread thin layer of red frosting over entire cake to seal in crumbs. For easier handling, refrigerate or freeze cake 30 to 60 minutes.
• Frost area between cab and back of engine with gray frosting. Place remaining gray frosting in small resealable plastic freezer bag; cut small tip off 1 corner of bag. Frost remaining fire engine with red frosting. Pipe on windshield, windows and ladder with white frosting. Trim and discard thin slice (about 1/8 inch) off bottoms of 4 red and 4 yellow gumdrops; attach trimmed gumdrops for headlights and taillights with white frosting. Attach remaining gumdrops on top of engine for lights. For wheels, pipe 1/2-inch circle of gray frosting on center of each cookie for hubcap; attach wheels to cake. Attach licorice coils on sides of cake for hoses.
• Pipe gray frosting around wheels and bottom edge of engine. For bumpers, pipe 1 or 2 lines of gray frosting on front and back of engine. Store loosely covered.

CAMPFIRE CAKE

Steps:

• Pulse the cookies in a food processor to make coarse crumbs. Transfer all but 1/2 cup crumbs to a bowl. Pulse the remaining crumbs until fine; add the 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and pulse. Transfer the fine crumbs to a separate bowl.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Sprinkle the red and butterscotch candies into a 7-by-10-inch rectangle, alternating colors as shown.
• Bake the candies until completely melted, 10 to 15 minutes. Immediately run a knife through the yellow candy to swirl it into the red (be careful-the candy will be very hot). Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Wipe out the food processor (no need to wash it). Add the butter, confectioners' sugar, melted chocolate, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla and pulse until smooth.
• Trim the long top and bottom edges of the pound cakes with a paring knife to make them rounded.
• Spread the frosting over the pound cakes, making sure to cover the rounded undersides (leave the ends exposed to resemble cut logs).
• Sprinkle the coarse cookie crumbs on a platter. Place 1 cake on the crumbs, then run a fork through the frosting to create the texture of bark. Rest the second cake at an angle on top; repeat with the fork.
• Sift the fine cookie crumb mixture over the logs to look like ash.
• Snap the candy sheet into different-size shards; press the shards into the lower cake to create the flames.