How To Make A Postman Pat Cake That Kids Will Love

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There are numerous images of Postman Pat cakes online which isn't surprising considering how popular the character and TV show are.

If you are wanting to create a Postman Pat birthday cake to surprise your child on their special day, look no further as we have put together an easy to follow tutorial for a total showstopper. This cake takes approximately three and a half hours to make and will serve 12-14 people.

It is suitable for anyone to eat but for younger children, you may wish to remove the fondant so it isn't too sweet.

If you need an extra pair of hands to help, you can get your child to weigh out ingredients and mix them. If your child's of secondary school age, they can even help prepare and arrange the fondant shapes too.

So, if you are ready, let's get started on making a Postman Pat van cake that will be a sure favourite for all Postman Pat loving toddlers.

Equipment

Mixing bowl.

Wooden spoon.

Sieve.

25cm square cake tin (you can use three to bake all the cakes at the same time if you wish).

Rolling pin.

Sharp knife.

30cm cake board.

Greaseproof paper.

Image © xamtiw, under a Creative Commons license.

Ingredients

For the cake:

300g softened butter.

300g caster sugar.

6 eggs, beaten.

300g self-raising flour.

1.5 tsp vanilla essence.

300g good-quality strawberry jam.

500g buttercream.
 

For decoration:

500g red fondant icing.

250g grey fondant icing.

250g green fondant icing.

100g black fondant icing.

100g yellow fondant icing.

A small amount of royal icing.

Edible icing flowers.

Postman Pat cake toppers.

Image © artroomstudio, under a Creative Commons license.

Method

1) Begin by preheating the oven to 180°C/160°C fan assisted/gas mark 4 and then lightly greasing your cake tin and lining the bottom with greaseproof paper.

2) In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3) Sift in the flour and add the eggs bit by bit, mixing well. Add the vanilla essence and combine.

4) Divide the batter into three equal portions to make three cakes. Add one portion into the cake tin and smooth out the surface with the back of a wooden spoon.

5) Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden on top and springy to the touch.

6) Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before decorating. Repeat for the other two cakes.

7) Level each cake so that the top is flat, and using the jam and some of the buttercream between each, layer the three sponge cakes together.

8) Trim around the edges of the cakes to make them as straight as possible and then cut a rectangle out that measures approximately 24cm by 20cm.

At one end of your rectangle, cut away half the height of the cake to form the bonnet area of your Postman Pat van cake and then cut into the remaining cake at a slight angle to form the windshield.

9) Now you have the base structure for your birthday cake, cover it in the remaining buttercream and place in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up slightly.

10) Roll out your green fondant until it is large enough to cover the cake board. Cut around the board with a sharp knife, and then place the fondant on the top to create a grass-like base.

11) Roll out 100g of the grey fondant to create a road and place this in the centre of the cake board.

12) Take your Postman Pat van cake out of the fridge and roll out the red fondant. Cover the cake entirely and trim off any excess at the bottom. Carefully lift your covered cake and place it into the road on the cake board.

13) Use the black fondant to cut out four wheels and stick these to the van using a little royal icing.

14) Roll out the remaining grey fondant and cut out the windscreen, windows and hubcaps for the wheels. Fix these in place with royal icing.

15) Use the yellow icing to create a number plate, headlights and the Royal Mail wording for the side of the van and stick these to the van.

16) Use the remaining royal icing to attach the edible flowers to the grass on the cake board and place your toppers on the board for the final details. Your Postman Pat van cake is now finished!

Top Tips

If you are struggling to find suitable cake toppers, you can make your own Pat and Jess cake toppers using Rice Krispie treats and fondant.

Simply mould the rice krispie treats into the shape of the character and cover with the right fondant colours. For Pat, you'll need a blue icing to create his postman's uniform and a peachy colour for his face and hands.

You can use a little food colouring to paint the finer details of his face such as his rosy red cheeks and you can even mould a parcel or some letters for him to hold using white fondant.

For Jess, you'll primarily need black and white fondant with a tiny bit of red to create her collar, pink for her nose and green for her eyes.  Once finished, you can stand them on the cake board alongside your van cake or maybe even pop Jess on the roof!

If you want to make the figures even more sturdy, you can insert a plastic lolly stick through the Rice Krispie shapes before covering with fondant.

If you know a party guest has allergies such as gluten or dairy intolerance, you can change the flour for almond or oat flour. For a butter alternative, you can try a mixture of half coconut oil, half unsweetened applesauce. The cake may taste a little different but the texture should remain similar.

Storage

Due to the fondant covering, this cake can be stored at room temperature for up to two weeks and the cake will remain fresh. Just make sure that there is no exposed cake and then keep it wrapped in film or within a storage container.

Make sure the room is not too humid as otherwise, the fondant may become sticky.

This cake can also be refrigerated, but again, it needs to be wrapped completely or kept in an airtight container.

If you want to freeze your creation, you can do so and it will keep for up to a year. To do this, it needs to be wrapped completely and then placed in a sealed bag or container.

Just make sure you take it out of the freezer a couple of days before you want to serve it to allow it to thaw completely.