Cake Part I

I've had several comments about Amelia's castle birthday cake, so I've decided to do a tutorial to show you how to make it - it's really not difficult at all!

But because I don't have the time or ingredients to make it this weekend, I'll just start off talking about cakes in general today and then come back and do a detailed (with pictures) tutorial about assembling the castle (I think I'll make a boy one to show that it can be great for either!) at a later date (soon I promise!)

Plus, Sophia wanted a cake today... she's all about getting married these days (watching Mommy's princess movie aka our wedding video, getting dressed up to get married to Daddy, etc.) so we decided to make her a wedding cake - she did most of the decorating, so this is proof that cake decorating is not that hard :)

So, you'll notice I have a great homemade frosting recipe below, but not a cake recipe...well, that's because I use boxed cake mix! I have a few random talents* but I also acknowledge when I am NOT great at something. I can make a good coffee cake and German chocolate cake, but NOT a great white cake - the boxed mix always turns out better.

YUM!

But there ARE some things you can do to make a perfect boxed cake, so here are my tips for the perfect cake. Bake the cake according to the box instructions, but also

• Line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper (place the pan on the paper and trace and cut out to fit). If you don't have parchment paper, grease the pan and then put a little bit of the dry cake mix and sift it on the pan.


• Be sure to pour the batter into the pan immediately after you're done beating it, and then stick it into the oven immediately. Don't let it sit in the bowl or pan.


• Do not over-cook the cake - as soon as a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out dry, take the cake out.


• Let the cake cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before transferring onto cooling rack.


• When the cake is cool, trim it. I don't have a lazy susan for this, I just place the cake on the cake stand and rotate the cake stand with one hand while using a large serated knife to cut the top of the cake level.


• Crumb coat the cake. You can either use some thinned out frosting and apply a very thin layer to create a crumb coat or make a glaze by heating up jam and brushing it on with a pastry brush. This step is crucial, because it keeps crumbs out of your frosting and seals in the moisture of the cake!


• Then refigerate the cake for a couple of hours before decorating.


• To decorate, pipe the frosting over the entire cake, then use a decorating spatula to smooth the frosting. Dip the spatula into hot water and pat dry between strokes. If you don't have one, you can use the back (flat part) of a knife.


• Another method for smoothing a cake, if you're using a frosting that crusts (NOT buttercream), is to first smooth it using the method above and then, once a crust has formed, place a sheet of wax paper or paper towel on the cake and use your hand to smooth it even more by rubbing with your palm flat using circular motion.


• Now you can add whatever decorations you'd like on top. Another trick I've learned, to fill a pastry bag - place it into a drinking glass and folding the edges over the sides of the glass, then using a spoon to fill the bag.

Three year old's wedding cake, decorated by the bride herself:

By the way, for frosting mini cupcakes the best tool is your fingers - just smooth the frosting on with your (clean!) fingertips.

*I'm also thinking of doing a tutorial for the jumper Amelia is wearing in the picture with the castle cake - I made it reversible, so that she could wear the "1" side on her birthday and the floral side the rest of the year. It was fun to make. One thing you'll learn about me and sewing is that I generally don't use patterns... I just tend to pick easy projects and then - sometimes using ideas from several patterns - come up with something that works. So we'll see if I can recreate this one! I also do things like use Target sheet sets to create baby clothes (recognize that Simply Shabby Chic seet set?) - I am from Austria, so how very Sound of Music of me, huh?