Super Hero Birthday Cake

by Robert
(Corinth, NY USA)

I've been making my own birthday cakes since I was six years old--when I marveled at all the pretty pictures in my mother's Betty Crocker Cookbook. I couldn't wait to make a few of them for myself. I enjoy making the cat cake for myself and friends--but a few years back, my partner gave me a special Wilton Superhero cake pan.

The pan comes with two sets of emblems so you can make cakes for Superman or Batman fans--but I chose to make a Golden Age Green Lantern cake for my godson (he was in his teens at the time), because he had given me a Green Lantern T-shirt for my birthday. The cake pan allows you to make a cake design for any caped hero--and there are MANY of those--but you can also cut off the cape part (and eat it yourself--strictly for quality control, you understand) and expand your range of superhero characters.

I used a new recipe for the frosting, too, because I wanted to shape a face for the Green Lantern--who doesn't resemble Batman or Superman in any way. It was a standard chocolate cake recipe--as a chef, I have dozens within easy reach--but I chose the 7-minute frosting because it comes out pure white and blends with bright colors easily.

As you can see, the nose came out a bit "off"--he looks like Dilbert clad in his "special" long underwear, complete with purple cape--but I've made a few diferent designs since then, and I've also discovered that it makes a great Jello mold, too!