Baking

Easy piano birthday cake

It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday, and the party crowd's already here. They said can you play a memory...and this cake is just what you need! From The Australian Women's Weekly's famous 'Children's Birthday Cake Book' cookbook, you're sure to feel nostalgic when you see this one from your childhood.
easy piano birthday cake
1
1H

Ingredients

Pianoplayer
Chocolate buttercream

Method

Piano player

1.Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease cake pans; line bases and sides with baking paper, extending paper 5cm (2 inches) above sides.
2.Make cakes according to directions on packets. Pour a quarter of the mixture into bar pan; pour remainder into square pan. Bake bar cake about 30 minutes and square cake about 1 hour. Stand cakes in pans 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
3.Cut 2.5cm (1-inch) slice off one side of square cake; cut one end off bar cake to make it the same length as square cake, reserve cut-off piece. Using round cutter, cut a circle from reserved cut-off piece of bar cake to make piano stool; cut a piece from base of stool so it is lower than keyboard, if necessary.
4.To make butter cream; beat butter until white as possible, gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar then milk, then remaining icing sugar. Beat until smooth. Stir sifted baking cocoa into butter cream, tint with brown colouring.
5.Secure cakes on cake board, as pictured, with a little butter cream. Spread piano and stool cakes all over with butter cream.
6.Cut chocolate into 5cm (2-inch) strips; position, top-side down, along keyboard, as pictured, to make white keys. Cut licorice strap into 4cm (1½-inch) lengths; place along keyboard, as pictured, to make black keys.
7.Trim ice-cream wafer to 4cm x 5cm (1½-inch x 2-inch) rectangle; press into piano to make music stand. Sheet music can be cut and pasted onto a small piece cardboard; position on music stand. Add candelabra and candles (or other small toy), if you like.

Equipment: 8cm x 25cm (3¼-inch x 10-inch) bar cake pan, deep 20cm (8-inch) square cake pan, 4cm (1½-inch) round cutter, 30cm (12-inch) square cake board.

Note

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