Creativity in the Kitchen - A&W Cake

"A&W Cake"

A&W Cake

A&W Cake - basic instruction photos
(Detailed instructions below)

WHY I DID THIS:

I made this cake for fun to bring to a church picnic.

WHAT I USED:

Chocolate cake mix

Chocolate frosting

White frosting (only need a tiny bit so rather than buy and entire container I just made a little bit with powdered sugar, butter and milk)

Label from 2 liter A&W bottle

Biscuit cutters

WHAT I DID:

Bake a chocolate cake in a 9" x 13" baking pan. Cool completely.

Pieces cut with biscuit cutters.
(Shown with crumb layer - optional at this stage.)

Using biscuit cutters, cut out 4 - 3" circles and 1 - 1" circle. Cut the circles in half.  Lay the half circles flat side down on a  cookie sheet, stacking them to create the basic form of a bottle.  With a serrated knife, rough in a rounded edge on the circle at one end for the bottom of the bottle.  Rough in the shape of the tapered end and neck of the bottle into the two 3"circles at the other end blending it into the size of the 1" circle at the very end.

NOTE:  The detail shaping happens when applying the crumb layer.

Crumb Layer
(This was the trickiest part for me.)

Gently frost the entire structure with a crumb layer.  Carefully remove any excess crumbs and frosting to obtain the desired shape of the bottom, the taper and the neck of the bottle.

Crumb Layer:  The crumb layer is made by thinning a little bit of the chocolate frosting with a very small amount of milk.  Should be the consistency of thin pancake batter.  Gently spread the thin frosting all over the surface of the cake.  It will pick up crumbs, getting the crumbs stuck in the frosting.  Once it is set the crumbs will remain trapped in the "crumb layer" and keep them from getting in your decorative frosting.

Frosted

Once set, frost the entire cake with the chocolate frosting.

TIP: To get the smooth look you can use a hot knife (a knife dipped in hot water then quickly dried.  you might want to play around with it. I've found that sometimes it works better if the knife is hot, but still a little damp.) and gently smooth over the surface of the frosting.

Frosted bottle cap
(The chocolate frosting looks shiny due to condensation.
It was a hot day and the cake had been kept in the fridge.)

Frost the "bottle cap" with the white frosting.  Use a toothpick to make the detailed grooves on the "cap".

Cake side by side with the real thing.

Remove the label from the 2 liter bottle - wash and dry it.  Cut it to fit over the cake. Apply while frosting is still moist.

Done!!

-Jill