THE Cake

 

A couple weeks ago I was having the discussion with my husband that I wish I had the desire or maybe just the attention span to get really good at just one thing.  If I did that- really focused on just one thing- I could be the best at that one thing and then sell the item or service, trademark my genius ideas, be revered as a guru, appear on morning talk shows, and eventually take over the world.  But alas, I have self-diagnosed adult ADD.  I want to do EVERYTHING!  A Jill-of-all-Trades, I consider myself.  Just in the last year, I have designed blogs, purchased a sewing machine AND an embroidery machine in the hopes of becoming a seamstress, made hairbows, researched starting my own party planning and supplies business, done graphic designs for a company, began leading worship at a church, and toyed with the idea of making and selling custom cakes/cupcakes/cookies/other sugary goodness (that's where this post comes in.)  And although I may never get REALLY good at just one thing, I'm having a LOT of fun dabbling in so many different creative outlets. 

Thanks to the massive time-waster, yet completely genius website Pinterest, I believe I have mastered the art of the cake.  At least the make-it-yourself-but-tastes-and-looks-like-it-came-from-a-bakery birthday/wedding/any and all occasion cake.  I put this masterpiece together using a couple of different recipes and a bit of my own genius (er...store-bought raspberry preserves) and I must say that it is GOOD!  I even hesitate to share this recipe, but I figure all you have to do is look at my Pinterest account, so I'll go ahead and just post it here.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

THE Cake
(Cake recipe from Recipe Girl)
(Frosting recipe from Glorious Treats)

Cake Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.
3. Pour mix into three greased 9 inch round cake pans.  Cook until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  I believe it was 25-30 minutes, but I don't honestly remember.  (If making cupcakes, use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.)
4. Remove cake from pans and let cool on cooling rack for a few hours.  (How to remove cake onto cooling rack video tutorial here.)


Frosting Ingredients
**I doubled the frosting recipe for this cake due to the three layers and the frosting method.
½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream

Directions
1. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
2. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
3. Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cake.)
4. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.  At this point, you can add frosting gel color (I used Wilton) or leave it white.
5. Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

Now, put it all together!

1. Cut the rounded top off of each cake to make the cakes flat. This will help you alot!
2. Put the first layer on your cake stand.  Put a very thin layer of icing, then spread on a layer of store-bought raspberry preserves.  Repeat with the next two layers.
3. Cut off five or six wooden skewers to the height of your cake, then push them down through the layers to keep the cake together.
4.  Two options for frosting the cake:  Frost cakes as usual by spreading frosting with an offset spatula or knife.  OR, if you want to be super-cool and impress all your friends with the rosette mehod, go ahead and frost your cake as usual with just a thin layer of icing.  Then, follow this method by the brilliant I am Baker blogger. 

One tip I learned when making this cake- if you are doing the rosette method, make sure your frosting is cold enough.  I would stick it back in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so before you begin doing the rosettes.  You will have to refill your frosting bag several times, so each time you are actually piping the rosettes on, stick the icing back in the fridge for those few minutes, as well.  When you are done with the cake, refrigerate it!  You don't want melted roses!  Also, her tutorial calls for a 1M tip, but I used a Wilton 2D.