Ironman Cake

This thoughtful cake was submitted by Geke from The Netherlands. Their grandson Damian went to the USA with his Mom for two weeks to see his Greatgrandma. While on the trip, they saw Iron Man for the first time and wanted to have an Ironman cake for his birthday. There are three Ironman movies (Ironman 1, Ironman 2, and Ironman 3) and many with other appearances of Ironman / Tony Stark in Marvel shows and movies. As well, Damian insisted on having carrot cake and Geke tried out a new technique called the FBCT method for the Ironman cake frosting design. Baking a cake for someone that brings back happy memories is always a kind gesture.

This thoughtful cake was submitted by Geke from The Netherlands. Their grandson Damian went to the USA with his Mom for two weeks to see his Greatgrandma. While on the trip, they saw Iron Man for the first time and wanted to have an Ironman cake for his birthday. There are three Ironman movies (Ironman 1, Ironman 2, and Ironman 3) and many with other appearances of Ironman / Tony Stark in Marvel shows and movies. As well, Damian insisted on having carrot cake and Geke tried out a new technique called the FBCT method for the Ironman cake frosting design. Baking a cake for someone that brings back happy memories is always a kind gesture.

 

How to Make an Ironman Cake

To make your very own Ironman cake, begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a glass or shiny metal pan and 325 degrees Fahrenheit for a dark nonstick pan. Grease the inside of two 9 x 13 inch cake pans. By spraying the bottom and sides of the pan, it will help prevent the cake from sticking to the sides of the pan, allowing for easy removal of the cakes. 

In a mixing bowl thoroughly combine carrot cake mix, eggs, water, and vegetable oil. Start with the dry ingredients in the bottom of the bowl and incorporate one egg at a time. Then, after the eggs are mixed, slowly pour the water into the bowl and mix. Next, add the last ingredient of vegetable oil and beat the mix for about two to three minutes. 

Next pour the batter into both cake pans, about half in each to make the cake layers even. To get all of the batter out of the bowl, use a spatula. Then, using the same spatula, smooth out the cake batter in the pan to help the cake rise level. After the cakes are fully cooked and when poked a toothpick comes out clean, place the cakes on a drying rack. 

Once the cakes are dried, use a cake leveler to cut off the top. Place one of the cakes onto a serving tray and apply a thin layer of buttercream on top. Then, place the other cake upside down on top of the other cake. By placing the second cake upside down, then the top of the cake will be extra smooth for the decorating. Next, apply a thick layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Then, place the cake in the fridge while working on the buttercream transfer. 

Print or draw out an image or Ironman onto a large piece of paper that will be the size of the decoration on your cake. Then, flip over the piece of paper to make it look as though he is looking in a mirror, this may require you to redo the outlines of your drawing with a marker so that they are visible. Then, cut out a piece of parchment paper and place it on top, placing small weights on the corners to smooth out the parchment. 

In five bowls, mix up blue, red, yellow, black, and gray buttercream. To do this place vanilla buttercream into the bowls and slowly incorporate a few drops of food coloring at a time to avoid adding too much and overpowering the color. Then, fill piping bags with each color of buttercream (using a #3 tip for black, gray, and blue and #8 for red, yellow, and blue). 

Once your piping bags are organized, start piping buttercream onto the parchment paper, beginning with black. Remember that the order of colors and placement of butter cream first applied to the parchment paper is what will appear on the cake. Then, continue to apply buttercream until the entire Ironman and blue background is finished. Next, place the parchment paper and buttercream into a flat surface in the freezer. Wait between four and twenty four hours before removing from the freezer. This amount of time will allow the buttercream to freeze without going bad. 

Remove your cake from the fridge and buttercream from the freezer and gently place the parchment paper on top of the cake with the buttercream side facing down. Then, slowly peel away the parchment paper, leaving the buttercream behind on the cake. 

Finish off the cake with the final border and birthday message buttercream decorations. Use a #192 Wilton cake tip for a yellow border around the bottom of the cake, making individual squeezes for definitive stars. Then, use a #21 Wilton cake tip for the top blue border, with a #192 red buttercream star dot in each corner. Finally, use a #5 Wilton cake tip for black buttercream birthday messages. 

Enjoy your very own Ironman cake with a neat frozen buttercream transfer design. Thanks to Geke from The Netherlands for submitting this thoughtful cake for their grandson.