The Golfer Cake

Each year I look forward to baking Matt a birthday cake. However, with a crazy toddler running between my legs and pulling out every pot and pan in the kitchen it’s really hard to find time (or patience) to whip up an elaborate cake these days. And believe me, as I was shopping for the ingredients for the cake, it crossed my mind several times throughout the trip to just throw a package of bakery cupcakes in my shopping cart and call it a day. After all, I could easily use the “but I’m 32454543 weeks pregnant” excuse to skip the baking, but ultimately decided at the checkout counter to continue on with the original plan.

 

Believe it or not, this isn’t Matt’s first golf cake either. His mom surprised him at our rehearsal dinner with an incredible Caddyshack themed golf cake and he loved it! So I already knew a golf cake would be a guaranteed success if I could pull it off for his 35th birthday. 

Mission accomplished. 

Ingredients
 
1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix (plus eggs, oil, water, etc)
2 sticks salted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 5 teaspoons of cream or milk

Green Food Coloring
Wilton #233 Decorating Tip (here)

Wilton Leaf Green Coloring Paste (here)

Wilton Disposable Decorating Bags (here)
Small Juice Glass

Golf ball

Golf Flag

 

Directions

 

Bake cake according to package directions. Note: I reduced the temperature from 350 to 325 degrees and added a few minutes of bake time to allow the cake to bake much slower so it would be flat instead of raising in the middle with a slight hump. Make sure the cake cools completely before frosting. In fact, you can even bake your cake the day before if you want.

Meanwhile, make your buttercream frosting. In a large mixing bowl whip the butter. Slowly add in 2 cups of powdered
sugar. Mix until combined. Add the vanilla and 1 more cup of powdered
sugar and continue mixing. At this point you may need to add a teaspoon
or two of milk to thin the frosting down. Add in your last cup of
powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add more or less milk depending
on the consistency. You want the frosting to be thick, creamy and to be
able to hold a point. 

BEFORE you mix in the green coloring, spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake to create a “crumb coat” to seal in any loose crumbs and ensure the grass sticks to the cake.

 

To create the golf hole, grease a juice glass and press it upside down into the cake, slightly twisting until you hit the bottom. Slowly remove the glass, along with the entire cake circle. Crumble the cake and place half of it back in the hole as “dirt.” 

 

Add a 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring to your remaining icing. Feel free to add more until you’ve reached your desired grass color. Scoop your frosting into a decorating bag (make sure the tip is in first) and begin creating your grass! This is truly a labor of love.

Once you’ve grassed your entire cake, plop a golf ball in the hole and add a flag!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other delicious birthday cakes I’ve baked for Matt include Summer Strawberry Coconut Cake and Easy Funfetti Double Layered Cake.