2D
A Piece of Cake
by Kate Mulhauser · submitted Aug 1, 2010 · 2010 contest
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Description
I found out about this contest from a blog, and I've been wanting an excuse to bake a cake with no birthdays in sight, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect! I went through the design options and decided that "A Piece of Cake" would be a nice starting cake, since I haven't done any serious cake decoration before. Plus, yellow cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite!
The inside of the cake is a yellow butter cake, and I made the chocolate frosting and the chocolate glaze as well, all from scratch. I mixed up and baked the cake one night and set it to cool overnight. While working on that, I had this piece of dried spaghetti soak in Maraschino cherry juice to get dyed red for the cherry stem (It was from Mom's dinner. I shaped it into an "f" and let it dry before soaking).
I made the frosting the next morning and set it in the fridge to set. Sometime during that time, I leveled the cake layers. After about 3 hours I got impatient because I promised my friends that I'd bring cake to them by 6:30pm and it was already about 4:30. The frosting wasn't as thick as I would have liked (I won't be using that recipe again), but it did the job. Then back into the fridge to chill as I made the glaze, which was the easiest thing in the world. By the time I put the glaze on and put it in the fridge (again) to set it, it was about time for me to go to my friend's house. I cut out the not-quite-as-perfect slices and put the remaining pieces in the fridge and forbade my parents from eating it. It was extremely delicious!
The next day (yes, this process spanned 3 days), I carved the words into the side of a piece, stick the "stem" into a cherry, and put the final frosting piping on. Somehow, even though I had the frosting in the freezer overnight, it still turned to mush instantly, so I added a LOT of extra powdered sugar and had to decorate in the final seconds before taking the picture. The cake still tasted great, but was getting a little stale from the fridge by this point. It was better the night before with my friends.
The inside of the cake is a yellow butter cake, and I made the chocolate frosting and the chocolate glaze as well, all from scratch. I mixed up and baked the cake one night and set it to cool overnight. While working on that, I had this piece of dried spaghetti soak in Maraschino cherry juice to get dyed red for the cherry stem (It was from Mom's dinner. I shaped it into an "f" and let it dry before soaking).
I made the frosting the next morning and set it in the fridge to set. Sometime during that time, I leveled the cake layers. After about 3 hours I got impatient because I promised my friends that I'd bring cake to them by 6:30pm and it was already about 4:30. The frosting wasn't as thick as I would have liked (I won't be using that recipe again), but it did the job. Then back into the fridge to chill as I made the glaze, which was the easiest thing in the world. By the time I put the glaze on and put it in the fridge (again) to set it, it was about time for me to go to my friend's house. I cut out the not-quite-as-perfect slices and put the remaining pieces in the fridge and forbade my parents from eating it. It was extremely delicious!
The next day (yes, this process spanned 3 days), I carved the words into the side of a piece, stick the "stem" into a cherry, and put the final frosting piping on. Somehow, even though I had the frosting in the freezer overnight, it still turned to mush instantly, so I added a LOT of extra powdered sugar and had to decorate in the final seconds before taking the picture. The cake still tasted great, but was getting a little stale from the fridge by this point. It was better the night before with my friends.
Baker’s site: www.katemulhauser.webs.com