My husband was turning 40, it was during the pandemic, and we had a young baby at home. So, I felt like my options were a little limited compared to other years to really make this a special occasion. I still wanted to celebrate in some way. I searched Pinterest for ideas and loved this beer cake idea. I was thinking it would be fun to do a birthday photo shoot, but I decided to do the beer cake instead. It seemed easy to make, I was a little wrong about that. It’s not too challenging, but it did require some assembly. It wasn’t just stacking beer cans and calling it a day like I thought. Let me break it down for you in case you want to give it a go.
The trick is getting the middle and top layers, while also having enough beer cans to go around the entire cake. Or you could always set the beer cake up so that you only show the front side. Then you wouldn’t need as many beer cans.
I started off by picking a theme. My husband said that he wanted key lime cheesecake for his birthday. I decided to stick with the lime theme and went with Moscow mule beer.
I used this recipe for the key lime cheesecake cupcakes. I was trying to surprise my husband with me baking my first ever cheesecake. So, I didn’t have real limes on hand and just used lime juice. Next time, I’d love to try it with real limes and lime zest. Keep in mind that these key lime cheesecakes, maybe more so the crust will make your house smell delicious! There’s no hiding the smell quickly! I learned this the hard way when making them right before my husband came home from work and hand to assemble the beer cake in a hurry.
Now that you’ve got your theme, think about how many people you need to supply with your cupcakes and/or beers. Then it’s time to assemble the beer cake. Start by taking all the cans out. Set up the bottom layer. Then you need to find something to stack the middle layer on. When I created this in a hurry before my husband came home from work, I used some cardboard and cut it to fit. Then later when I had time to correctly assemble, I used a pizza pan. I found the cardboard couldn’t hold all the weight stable enough. Especially, when assembling and what I was fearing when someone took a beer can off. I didn’t want the cake to come crashing down.
Once the bottom layer is put together, then I added some beer cans under the pizza pan to support the middle and top layer. Now I created the middle layer. When the middle layer was complete, I added a beer can in the middle and placed one beer can on top of that to create the top layer of the beer cake.
Really, it’s nothing too hard or fancy. But it was fun and different. To top it off the key lime cheesecake cupcakes were amazing! Just keep in mind that you need some support for the middle. It isn’t just stacking beer cans. What’s great about this project though is that you are working with beer cans and can easily adapt the cake with no problem.
Alternative Cake Recipe
Honey Blonde Ale Cake Recipe –>Check out this beer cake idea! This cake is perfect for any party, and they are sure to please everyone. Spoiler alert, there’s no beer in the cake though.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Frosting Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup honey
Instructions
Preheat the oven to around 350 degrees. Grease and flour an eight or nine inch round cake pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the honey until well combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack before frosting with honey buttercream frosting (recipe above).
Honey Buttercream Frosting Instructions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and honey until light and fluffy. Frost cooled cake as desired. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
I think for my husband’s next birthday I’m going to try and make some DIY mochi. It’s something my husband likes and it’s not always the easiest thing to find to buy; or that I’d want to pay the price once I do find it. Happy baking!