Sunday, June 10, 2012

Eazee Princess Cake

Eazee Princes Tarta, aka Princess Cake




Ingredients:

  • 1/2 recipe cake
  • Fluffy frosting, I prefer buttercream
  • Whipped cream
  • Rolled fondant
  • Candy flower to decorate top (optional)


Tools:

  • One 6 inch pan
  • Knife
  • Metal Spatula, the kind you use for cakes
  • Rolling Pin
  • Ribbon and Scissors (Optional)


Steps:

  1. Bake a 1/2 of a cake according to instructions in 6 inch pan
     As in, the batter should be enough to fill one pan as opposed to two
  2. Allow cake to cool
  3. Prepare frosting, fondant, and whipped cream
  4. Once cake has cooled, cut cake into thirds
  5. On each layer of cake, lay on frosting with a thickness between 1/4 and 1/2 inch
  6. Frost the top of the cake
  7. You may or may not frost the sides.  If you choose to frost the sides, make sure the layer is quite thin.
  8. Roll fondant to 1/4 inch thick
  9. On the top of the cake, create a rounded mountain of whipped cream
  10. Smooth the mountain using back side of metal spatula
  11. Drape Rolled Fondant over forearm
  12. Starting at top of cake, carefully lay fondant over cake
    You only get one chance for this, the whipped cream will ruin your fondant if you try again, so do this step very carefully
  13. As best as you can, smooth sides of fondant onto cake
  14. For a cleaner look, wrap base of cake with decorative ribbon
  15. Place candy flower on top of cake 
  16. Enjoy


This is probably the most complicated recipe I'll ever post on this site.  I made a princestarta for my mom for mother's day. As usual, I sort of just took the basic principles and did them my way. This cake is the most decadent desert I've ever tasted.

I'm not the hugest fan of the traditional white chocolate fondant, but it would be easy enough to make it. Traditionaly, the fondant is dyed green.  But why? Use any kind of cake you want, traditionally it's sponge, but plain cake is what I've loved. I can see no reason for not using chocolate or red velvet, but probably not carrot. I made my own homemade whipped cream, which I assumed would be thicker, again, I see no reason for not trying premade whipped cream, it might even be thicker.  It's important to use a softer, fluffier frosting, as a thicker frosting will clash with the whipped cream.  In the photo, I doused the cake with a raspberry simple syrup, which I intend to post in the near future, I highly recommend adding just a pop of fruit to this cake, but it truly is delicious on its own.

I really hope you enjoy this simplified cake recipe, Happy Baking!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Eazey Plain Cake

Eazey Plain Cake:
















Ingredients:
  • 1 c. butter, (2sticks) softened
  • 1.5 c. Sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 c Milk
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • Butter and flour for cake pan


Tools:

  • A mixer, OR a spoon and some serious elbow grease
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Two 8" Round Pans or One 9x13
  • Oven
  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Spatula

Steps:
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Grease and flour cake pan(s)
  3. Cream butter, sugar, milk and eggs in bowl
  4. Slowly add vanilla, salt, baking powder and combine thoroughly 
  5. Sift flour into batter
  6. Mix thoroughly 
  7. Distribute batter evenly in pans
  8. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until cake is springy
  9. Let cool 30 minutes
  10. Remove from pan
  11. Decorate as desired, or enjoy as is
I've never understood why you have to divide the yolks for a cake, white cake uses whites, yellow cake uses 8 FREAKING EGG YOLKS!!! What am I supposed to do with 8 egg whites?  So I've adapted my own cake, without troubling myself with egg separation.  And it's delicious.

Cake recipes always say to mix the liquids and dry ingredients in separate bowls.  I never understood why.  It's just important to make sure everything is blended.