BEAUT CAKES ON A BUDGET
CLEVER CAKE HACKS
CHILDREN’S birthday cakes can cost a fortune, but some clever Geelong and Surf Coast parents are saving hundreds through a finger-licking sweet supermarket hack.
Parents have bought mudcakes from supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths for just $4.80 and turned them into masterpieces.
The cake makeover involves buying two or three chocolate or vanilla mudcakes and tiering them on top of one another using icing.
Once tiered, cake-baking parents would then cover the cakes with icing and decorate with lollies.
The hack has saved parents hundreds, as a professionally-baked birthday cake could cost anywhere between $100$500 on average.
Torquay mother Emma Wadling said she had never bought a professionally made cake and opted to instead “hack” one up or bake her own.
“I will start with things like a simple mudcake, sponge cake or sponge slabs and I will literally piece it together,” she said.
“We will then do a run to the Reject Shop and buy lollies on mass. I always start with Pinterest and plan it that way.”
HOW TO MAKE A HACKED CAKE:
1. Get 2-3 supermarket mudcakes and slice their tops off.
2. Tier the cakes on top of one another using icing as glue.
3. Ice the cake.
4. Decorate with lollies/ chocolate. The popular method has sparked the creation of the Facebook page ‘Woolies/Coles Mudcake Hacks’ which has almost 200,000 members across Australia. Some of the most creative cakes on the page include a lizard made from sponge slabs and a burger from a sponge cake, while others have used other cakes such as lamingtons to piece together numbers. The colourful cake creations look like they would be worth hundreds, but instead boast a total price tag of under $30. Surprisingly, they are also super easy to make. “It’s very achievable for the average person,” Wadling said. “I’m not a baking enthusiast, but I feel like over the years I’ve created some fabulous cakes that my kids have enjoyed — starting with a basic slab or mudcake from the supermarkets.”
CAKE HACK TIPS:
1. Put the cake in the freezer beforehand, to make it easier to ice.
2. Use Betty Crocker icing, but whip it first.
3. Use sauce bottles to create drips of icing.
4. Cut through the middle of the cake before assembling and icing — for cream or jam. Wadling said her kids loved the hacked cakes, as they were colourful and often fitted the birthday party’s theme. They are also a favourite among parents, as they are an affordable option. “The kids like the look and colours of them — they look exciting.”