Tag Archives: Cake

Three Tier Staggered Squares Wedding Cake

Posted in All Posts, Cake Decorating by

I did a wedding cake this weekend.  Wedding cakes freak me out.  They have to be as close to flawless as possible and I don’t do flawless work.  I prefer the cakes that have to look like something else.  The kind that, if I mess up, I can cover up the mistake with a fondant flower or some other random decoration.  Anyway, this one was pretty simple.

Three square tiers with ribbons around the bottom.  Impossible to mess up, right?

Psht.  Right.

busy bakerThe first cake I baked stuck in the pan.  When I tried to turn it out, it came out in a million tiny pieces.  I said some choice words, cried a little, gave the mess to 5 very happy children, and made another one.  It turned out perfectly, as did the next 4.  In all, I made 6 pound cakes, but only used 5 of them for this cake.

Then I cut them into squares, as I don’t have square pans.  Again, more remnants for the cake monsters.  They ate cake for breakfast for 3 days.  I won major Awesome Mom points for that.

I made 14 cups of buttercream icing (thank God for KitchenAid mixers!), iced them, put dowel rods in them (to keep cake from collapsing,) iced them again, and stacked the suckers. Then, I spent 1 hour, applying scotch tape to the back of ribbon so the grease/butter from the icing wouldn’t bleed through.  That was FUN.  *eye roll*

I attached the ribbon and went to bed.

The next morning, I got up, got myself and 5 kids ready for a wedding and loaded them and the cake into the car.  I hate driving with cakes in the car.  I just know somebody will rear-end me and cake will fly everywhere and the poor bride will be left with no wedding cake.  I drive very slowly, turn corners at a snail’s pace, and tick off drivers every time I deliver a cake.

Anyway, I got it there in tact and on time.   Here it is.

staggered squares with ribbon wedding cake

Not much to it, but it’s at least relatively smooth.  Not smooth enough (my cakes never are) but I did the best I could.  It tasted good, or so I’m told.  I’m dieting and can’t eat it.  Bummer, huh?

This little baby packs some major calories/carbs/fat or whatever else you’re not supposed to have while dieting.  Here’s the rundown.

  • 14 sticks of butter (cake and icing)
  • 15 cups of granulated sugar (cake)
  • 28 cups of powdered sugar (icing)
  • 15 cups flour (cake)
  • 30 eggs (cake)
  • 7 cups Crisco (icing)

I think I gained 15 lbs. just by typing that.

Related Posts:

Wedding Cakes
My Cake Hobby 
Let Them Eat Cake 
Three Cakes 

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Giraffe Cake

Posted in Cake Decorating by

I have so many posts in draft that I could finish, but it’s 11:30 on Sunday night and I don’t feel like thinking.  Besides, tomorrow is Monday.  Who feels like reading on a Monday?  So, for your pleasure and mine, a cake.  Cake is always a good idea.

It’s not the best cake I’ve ever done, but I think it’s cute.  I drew the giraffe free-hand and it wasn’t my idea to make it blue with neon green spots.  However, the color palette is my favorite part about this cake.  All the colors were vibrant and cheerful and my client (and her daughter) were happy.  Success!

In other cake news, I’m doing a wedding cake in December.  I always get nervous doing wedding cakes.  A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event (theoretically) and the cake needs to be perfect.  Ach, wish me luck.

An Interview, Some Cake Stuff, and a Dancing Toddler

Posted in All Posts, Blogging, Cake Decorating, Kids by

It’s Monday and I hate Mondays.  So, how about a little fun and some cake?

First, I did an interview for Stewie over at This Little Thing Called Life.  For those of you who don’t know Stewie, doing this interview was a risk.  He’s…satirical, to put it nicely.  He absolutely demolished Apostle Jack who, admittedly, deserved it.  What made it worse (or better) is that Apostle Jack was clueless. (See here and here.)  I didn’t want that happening to me.  But he was kind.  He only called me a racist arsonist.  I suggest you check it out.

Second, cake.  People love cake.  I get a lot of questions about my cakes.  (For cake photos, see here and here.)  The number one question is, “How do you get the icing so smooth?”

It’s not that hard.  The secret is “crumb-coating” or “dirty icing.”  Basically, you get the smallest amount of icing possible and spread it really thin all over the cake, not caring whether there’s crumbs or not.  Be sure to fill in all the holes and cracks with icing.  It’ll look like this when you’re done.

You let the icing “crust.”  That can take up to an hour, but when the icing is hard, the crumbs will be sealed in.  You’re now ready to ice the cake for real.

This time, put a butt-load (technical term) of icing on top of the cake and start spreading it with a spatula, pushing the icing down the sides.  Then ice the sides, making sure not to dig into the crumb coat.  Add extra icing as necessary.  Then use the flat side of a plastic or silicone bowl scraper to smooth the icing, beginning with the top and ending with the sides.

A turntable makes this easier, but it’s not necessary.  Again, let the icing crust.  If there are still some cracks, place a piece of paper or a paper towel on the icing and smooth over it gently with your hand.  And voilà, a smoothly iced cake.

The next question I get is, “Do you use cake mixes?”  The answer is yes, but with modifications.  Here’s the recipe.

Doctored Cake Mix

Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines Cake Mix (they taste better)
Oil and Water called for on the cake box
4 Eggs
1 cup cake flour or 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1/2 tsp. baking powder + dash of salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cocoa (If making a chocolate cake)

Directions:

1.  Mix cake mix, flour (or flour mixture),  sugar, and cocoa (if applicable) in large bowl.
2.  Add water, eggs, and oil.
3.  Mix on low-speed until all ingredients are incorporated.
4.  Beat on med-high for 2 minutes.
5.  Add sour cream and mix on low until blended.
6.  Bake according to package directions.

Yield:  Makes (3) 9-inch layers.

Tip:  Grease cake pans with shortening and flour or use baking spray with flour to ensure easy release.  Let cake sit in pans for 10 minutes before releasing.

There are some cakes I would never use mixes for.  Carrot cake, Red Velvet, and Sour Cream Pound Cake should always be made from scratch.  I do have the recipes for these but they are closely guarded family secrets.  If I told you what they were, I’d have to kill you.  Or marry you or force you to marry someone in the family.  Trust me, you don’t want the recipes that bad.  (Kidding, for any family that might be reading this.)  No, I’m not.

The last thing I want to leave you with is a cute little video of a dancing baby.  In case you haven’t seen enough of those in your lifetime.  I know I have, but this one is different because it’s MY dancing baby.  And like the excellent mother that I am, I happen to think she’s the cutest baby in the world.  And you will, too, even if you won’t admit it.