I’ve been a mum for 12 years now, and for about ten of those years, I’ve asked my son what kind of cake he would like for his birthday. I’m no Mary Berry, but I can knock up a good sponge cake, and I’m happy to give pretty much anything a go. Over the years we’ve had a volcano cake, a train cake, a Minecraft block and a Pokémon cake, amongst others. This year he asked me to make him a Warhammer purity seal cake, so I gave it my best shot.
Whilst not wanting to diminish my son’s latest obsession, Warhammer is basically painting tiny figures and then having a ruckus with your mate who also has some painted tiny figures. It’s a world I don’t fully understand, but I don’t need to understand it, I just need to continue to fund it.
In essence the cake is three layers of Oreo sponge, with Oreo frosting between the layers and all over it, which make it look like a muddy battlefield. After tapping into the expertise of a Warhammer loving adult, we brainstormed some ideas. My friend did the hard work, the painting and his painted creations would also double up as birthday gifts for the birthday boy. My role was to make the cake, and the paper scroll for the purity seal.
To make the purity seal
This was a two part job, with my friend ordering a 3D printed purity seal coaster off Etsy and painting it up accordingly, and me creating the scroll. I did this using an app called Canva, which is free and I use it quite a lot for various design things. I added his name and some appropriate Warhammer words and logos, then printed it on cream paper. The font I used was IM Fell English SC, which was as close as I could get to authentic. Aging the scroll meant dabbing the paper with a damp teabag, which worked well.
Once dry, I lit a candle and carefully (VERY CAREFULLY) held the paper above the flame to give extra colour and raggedy edges to the scroll. Be careful not to actually burn the paper. I made sure I was doing this on a flame proof chopping board, so if it did go up in flames, I could put them out quickly. Together with the appropriately painted seal, it looked pretty darn good.
If you want to read more about the painting of the purity seal, you can do here.
To make the Oreo cake
For his birthday, I made two of these cakes as he was having a family party and a party with friends. Click here to go to the recipe for the Oreos cake. You can make the sponge layers in advance. As long as they are well wrapped up, they will be fine for a day or two. The vanilla frosting is meant to look like a muddy, gritty battlefield, the kind a troop of Space Marines might find themselves on. The trick is to not overmix it, or it just becomes a dirge colour and not speckled. Don’t forget to save an Oreo or two to crumble up as extra dirt on top of the cake.
Follow the instructions on how to put the cake together, once you’ve got your Oreos cake built, it’s time to decorate it!
To decorate your Warhammer Purity Seal Cake
You will need a couple of toothpicks to hold some of the decorations in place, so don’t forget they’re there when it comes to serving your cake! Decide where you’re going to place your purity seal and using half a toothpick, pin the paper scroll in place. Using some of the Oreo frosting as glue, stick the purity seal down, on top of the cake, at the top of the scroll.
We also had a painted Space Marine to top off the cake. His base had been sculpted at the bottom so you could stick a toothpick in and anchor him into place, which was a stroke of genius. Around his feet I sprinkled some crushed up Oreos, which made him look like he was wading through mud.
As it was a birthday cake, I ordered some black candles, which finished it off nicely. My son absolutely loved his birthday cake and was impressed by how good it looked. If you’re into Warhammer and Oreos, then this is a relatively simple cake to put together, if you’ve got someone doing the painting for you that is!
It’s a brutal looking cake, but it really was delicious!
