How To Make Number Cake

Make Number cake easily without using a mold with these detailed step-by-step instructions. Number or alphabet cake made on Birthday or other special occasions appears unique and stands apart.   

An easy, trendy cake in pineapple flavor and made with whole wheat flour that too without using eggs.

Following the method given here, you can make a cake of any number or alphabet and in any flavor be it Chocolate or Paan or Rasmalai or any other.

 

Trendy Number Cake At My Place

Seeing the growing trend of Number cakes in 2018, I too wanted to give it a try. I got this opportunity for my dear friend Reena's birthday. As she was turning 50, completing an important milestone in her life, this was the best time to make this cake. Also, I would like to share here that she is an important person in my life as she is the one behind this blog. She only motivated me to start a blog. I am so grateful to her for this and making a special cake for her is just a small token of my gratitude towards her.

I was planning to bake Black forest cake but thankfully at the last moment remembered that she doesn't like chocolate. Thus, decided to go for Pineapple Cake.

 

 Recipe

This numerical cake is more about the method rather than the recipe. You can follow any recipe of your choice for making the cake. You can make of any flavor. 

Like I followed my Butterscotch cake recipe but as I did not want to use refined sugar so used Boora sugar which is basically powdered cane sugar.

Jaggery powder or brown sugar would have given a brown color. You can use any of these or even coconut sugar. Also, this time I used lemon juice in place of vinegar, something which my friend Chandrika advised me years back.

 

How To Make Number Cake Without Molds

• For making Number/alphabet cakes, stencils, as well as molds, are available but since I didn't have any so used paper cutouts and it worked fine. Yes, it gave me lots of leftover cake. But this leftover cake can be used in multiple ways. 
• In Number Cakes, icing is the easiest part. Just put gobbles of whipped cream, some decorations and that's it.
• Making Number cakes without stencils is a little lengthy process and thus requires planning. For this Number cake, I first baked a rectangular sheet cake in a baking tray of 9" by 7". Then I divided it into two parallel parts. After that, I put my cutout of number 5 and cut that shape. Thus I had 2 equal pieces of the number 5. Similarly, I cut two pieces of number 0. This means that I baked 2 sheet cakes.
• Thereafter, I soaked all 4 pieces with sugar syrup so that the cake remains moist. That's it. Then put whipping cream and your Number cake is ready.
• Also, I used a tray lined with aluminium foil in place of the cake board. 
• The best part of using paper cutouts is that you can make the cake of any number or alphabet. Just write that number or alphabet on a paper and cut it. 

 

Tip

Arrange for the cake board. I didn't have such a big one so had to make using cardboard and covering it with aluminum foil. But then, I had to compromise with the finishing part. So, I request you to get hold of a rectangular cake board first and then make the cutouts that fit on that board.

 

Step By Step Instructions

A. For The Cake

• Grease a 9" by 7" cake pan and dust it with flour. Keep it aside.

• Sift wheat flour, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda and salt at least 3 to 4 times. Sifting aerates the flour which in turn makes the cake soft. A very important step, especially in wheat cakes, so do not skip it.

• Take curd, sugar, milk (1/4 cup), pineapple essence, butter and oil in a bowl and whisk for 4 to 5 minutes till the mix becomes creamy. The more you beat at this stage the more spongy the cake will be.

• Fold dry ingredients into the wet mix in 2 or 3 instalments. Do not mix it vigorously. Be gentle and use cut and fold method.

• Adjust consistency using more milk, if required. The batter should be slightly thick forming a ribbon consistency.
• Mix lemon juice in the batter.

• Pour the cake batter into the greased cake pan. Tap the pan 3 to 4 times so that bubbles if any are removed which helps in even baking of the cake.
• Keep the cake pan in the middle rack of the oven, with the only bottom rod ON. Do not use the upper rod, this is because the heat from the top cracks the cake.
• Check after 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick, though by this time your house will be filled with the wonderful aroma of butterscotch. Take out or continue for some more time as the case may be.
• After 5 minutes or so, invert the cake and keep it on a wire rack. This is done so that the cake does not soggy from the bottom.

 

• Similarly, make one more sheet cake.

 

• When the cakes cool down completely then before frosting, wrap it in cling film and keep it in the refrigerator, at least for an hour. Better, if make it the previous day. This is done so that the cake does not crumble while dividing into 2 or 3 parts.

 

B. Make Cream

• Keep the bowl and the beaters in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This will save you time later on.Take the chilled cream in the bowl and whip it. Within 3 to 4 minutes, the cream will have soft peaks.
• Add pineapple essence. Beat again 2 to 3 minutes till you get stiff peaks. Read all the tips for making perfect whipped cream here.

 

• Cut pineapple pieces and deseed cherries.

 

C. Assembly

• Divide each cake into 2 parts. For dividing, make cuts all around the cake, just on the edges and do not go deep inside the cake.

• Now take a long thread (from your sewing box), place it between the cuts at the top.

• Now keep a hand on the cake and with the other hand pull both the edges of the thread together. Let it remain like this only.

 

• Now, without separating the two parts, keep the cutout of number 5 on anyone cake and cut the cake along the lines. This way you will have two number 5 in one go only.

 

• Similarly, cut the shape of 0 from the other cake.

 

• Remove excess cake and use it later either for making Cake pops or eating just like that.
• Mix 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar in 2 tablespoons of water. Put this sugar syrup on all the parts, a tablespoon on each part. After 5 minutes, repeat the process. This makes the cake moist and soft.

 

• Take a cake board, put numbers 5 and 0.

 

• Using a piping bag fitted with a large round tip, put dollops of whipped cream and randomly put pineapple slices and cherries. The dollops should be fairly big and tall.

 

• Place the second layer of numbers on top of the frosting gently.

• Decorate again with whipped cream, pineapple pieces and cherries.

 

FAQs

Q) How can I use the leftover cake after cutting the desired number or alphabet?

• Firstly, drizzle chocolate sauce on it and serve with vanilla ice cream. Or
• Make Rainbow Ice Cream Sundaes
• You can make Cake pops.  I made Cake Pops and my next post is going to be that only.
• And if nothing required at that moment then just freeze it and use it later.

 

Let's Connect

I hope you have liked this method of making Number cake and will surely try it out for your loved ones. I will be happy if you share your creations on Instagram and tag me #samirasrecipediary there.

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So, how did you like it? Yes, a lot of work. Agreed. But do the preparations beforehand and then simply assemble everything and get ready to receive lots of compliments.

Happy baking…