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I've made this cake twice now, and twice I've taken pictures of the final product but sadly not the pictures showing the process. This is just a demo of a larger scale cake I made last May for a birthday party. Since I didn't take pictures while making last years cakes, and since I don't have a reason to make another large scale pirate ship cake, I decided just to show the techniques using a store bought pound cake.
Of course you don't have to use the same cake recipes as I did. You don't even have to make the cake from scratch, a store bought cake mix brand will work just fine in making a totally awesome pirate ship cake.
The recipe I used for the first pirate ship cake was one I found from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style recipe book called Birthday Sheet Cake. I did alter her recipe slightly by adding orange zest instead of lemon zest which is what she adds to her birthday sheet cake. The cake tasted just as good as it looked believe it or not.
The second pirate ship cake I made is a vegan version with chocolate, raspberry, and cashew nut butter. The texture of this cake is super moist, which made it a little more difficult to build a pirate ship out of it. But it was the BEST tasting cake by far I've ever had. The recipe couldn't be any simpler and it's such a rich, super yummy cake you HAVE to try it!
For the cake:
18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.
For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.
Spread the frosting evenly on the cake.
***********************************************************************************************************
The second pirate ship cake I made was using a tasty vegan recipe I found online from Moosewood Restaurant
Deep Chocolate Vegan Cake
For the cake
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Transfer to a plate when cool and glaze.
Chocolate Cashew Nut Butter Raspberry Glaze:
In a double boiler or small, heavy saucepan over a medium flame, melt 1/3 cup raspberry jam with 1 1/2 cups carob chips or chocolate chips and mix thoroughly and add 2 tablespoons of cashew nut butter (feel free to add more cashew nut butter if you desire a nuttier flavor) to the chocolate as it is melting. In another small saucepan mix 4 tablespoons of jam with 1 tablespoon water and warm over a low flame until the spread liquefies. Brush the water-fruit mixture over the top of cooled cake. Spread the chocolate/cashew butter nut mixture on top of that. Allow the glaze to cool before cutting the cake. Serves 8.
Of course you don't have to use the same cake recipes as I did. You don't even have to make the cake from scratch, a store bought cake mix brand will work just fine in making a totally awesome pirate ship cake.
The recipe I used for the first pirate ship cake was one I found from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style recipe book called Birthday Sheet Cake. I did alter her recipe slightly by adding orange zest instead of lemon zest which is what she adds to her birthday sheet cake. The cake tasted just as good as it looked believe it or not.
The second pirate ship cake I made is a vegan version with chocolate, raspberry, and cashew nut butter. The texture of this cake is super moist, which made it a little more difficult to build a pirate ship out of it. But it was the BEST tasting cake by far I've ever had. The recipe couldn't be any simpler and it's such a rich, super yummy cake you HAVE to try it!
For the cake:
18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.
For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.
Spread the frosting evenly on the cake.
***********************************************************************************************************
The second pirate ship cake I made was using a tasty vegan recipe I found online from Moosewood Restaurant
Deep Chocolate Vegan Cake
For the cake
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn oil works well)
- 1 cup cold water or chilled brewed coffee
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Transfer to a plate when cool and glaze.
Chocolate Cashew Nut Butter Raspberry Glaze:
In a double boiler or small, heavy saucepan over a medium flame, melt 1/3 cup raspberry jam with 1 1/2 cups carob chips or chocolate chips and mix thoroughly and add 2 tablespoons of cashew nut butter (feel free to add more cashew nut butter if you desire a nuttier flavor) to the chocolate as it is melting. In another small saucepan mix 4 tablespoons of jam with 1 tablespoon water and warm over a low flame until the spread liquefies. Brush the water-fruit mixture over the top of cooled cake. Spread the chocolate/cashew butter nut mixture on top of that. Allow the glaze to cool before cutting the cake. Serves 8.
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Signing UpStep 1What you'll need
To make this pirate ship cake you'll need the following
-Toy pirates (I found mine at a local party store)
-Candles
-Malt balls (these are you cannons)
-Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Chocolate Creme Filled Rolled Wafer Cookies (any brand or flavor is fine)
-drinking straws
-wood skewers
-ice cream cone
-12x18 1 1/2 inches deep or an 8 inch square baking pan depending on what size cake you want
-colored construction paper to make the sails
-sword shaped cocktail stir sticks (I found these also at my local party store)
You want to make sure you have a sturdy surface to work on. For the first pirate ship cake I used a cake board to place my cake on which I coved in a cool pirate themed bandanna. You can purchase a cake board at Sur La Table or Williams and Sonoma. Basically it's a piece of cardboard, which you don't necessarily have to buy.
The second pirate ship cake I made I just used a baking sheet that I covered in foil.
-Toy pirates (I found mine at a local party store)
-Candles
-Malt balls (these are you cannons)
-Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Chocolate Creme Filled Rolled Wafer Cookies (any brand or flavor is fine)
-drinking straws
-wood skewers
-ice cream cone
-12x18 1 1/2 inches deep or an 8 inch square baking pan depending on what size cake you want
-colored construction paper to make the sails
-sword shaped cocktail stir sticks (I found these also at my local party store)
You want to make sure you have a sturdy surface to work on. For the first pirate ship cake I used a cake board to place my cake on which I coved in a cool pirate themed bandanna. You can purchase a cake board at Sur La Table or Williams and Sonoma. Basically it's a piece of cardboard, which you don't necessarily have to buy.
The second pirate ship cake I made I just used a baking sheet that I covered in foil.
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Take care,
Ericka
The one I use is from this site - but I tried a recipe from the instructables website last night that gave the advice of replacing the oil with apple puree - and i liked that much more than cooking with oil. The recipe I linked to makes enough for the pirate ship (it took me by surprise the first time I made it as the metric link I was using hid the fact that it was over 5 cups of flour - which would have been the hint that it was going to be a LOT of cake!)
I am not vegan either but have a number of friends or friends of my children who have allergies to dairy, egg, etc, so this cake, made with a dairy free margarine (in australia it is called nuttelex, although it contains no nuts either) means that everyone can eat the cake and be part of the fun without worrying about allergic reactions and trips to the hospital.
http://flickr.com/photos/glorybox/134940198/