Optimus Prime

The good news is this cake made it to the party, and the standby cupcakes I purchased did not get touched. It was an absolute hit. The bad news is that my poor little son was having a slight tummy problem (he wasn't sick though), and he didn't want any.

The cake is all Chocolate Fudge. I made four 12 x12 inch cakes and cut off about 1/3 of it to use as scrap and to make the back of the truck.

The rest is a modge podge of 8x8's and 6 x 6 inch cakes. Here is a picture of the first cake I attempted and how I put it together. It's how I did the second cake, too.


At certain points during this process I thought for sure I was done-for. But I kept on truckin' (haha), and was pleased with the final results. Sure, the fondant isn't smooth, but the overall effect was definitely there. For my first attempt at something of this nature, I can't complain.

The frosting was just regular lemony buttercream infused with cake for sturdiness. Actually a little too much cake, the frosting didn't wan't to stick, and if it did it wanted to fall off and take pieces of cake with it. That contributed greatly to the mushy look of the fondant.

The silver pieces are cardboard and fondant or just cardboard. The black portions are Rice Krispy Treats covered in fondant.

The big part of the truck was eaten, we brought home the leftovers only because Little Man didn't get to have a piece yesterday.

Ask me if I'd try this again and right now I'd probably say no. But in a few weeks the bug will bite me again and I'll be tearing the kitchen up!

When Color Attacks - The Recipe

I feel that since I've started this blog, I've been entirely too stingy with the recipes. So my dear readers, prepare for the most luscious cake recipe(s) you have ever tasted. I am not a scratch snob, though I do prefer a good scratch recipe over an "extended" box recipe any day (except for White Almond Sour Cream, which I will reserve for another post where I've actually used it).

The lovely thing about this cake is that it is horribly imperfect, yet it's received the best reception because of that. Some have called it a Dr. Seuss cake (without my prodding), and that is an effect I find delightful! I purposely did not take my time on the details because the book (Whimsical Bakehouse) I got the idea from stressed that it's okay to be imperfect, much like an impressionist painting. It's horrible from up close, but from afar it is fantastic (that's impressionist, right?)

The cakes are 9", 6", and 4", which are relatively small for a tiered cake, but really quite enormous for anything but weddings. The bottom and the top layer are Chocolate Fudge cake (a Toba Garrett recipe), and the middle layer is a Lemon Supreme Pound cake. The frosting and filling is buttercream. I want to stress that unsalted butter is a must. Unless you like things realllllly salty.

I also have a few tips before I get started.

1. Line the bottom of your pans with parchment paper. You would not believe what a huuuge difference this makes in releasing the cake. Also, grease them with butter. Flour is not really a necessity when greasing. Do not use Crisco unless you like crispy edges (learn from my mistakes, peeps).

2. Use GOOD pans. They make all the difference in the world. The two types of pans I typically use are Magic Line and for Springform I use Kaiser.

3. Drop the pans before putting them in the oven. I've gone into more detail in my first recipe.

4. Cool the cakes for at least 20 minutes (some say 10), and before you flip them out (or release them from the Springform), run a butter knife along the sides to release it. The bottom is taken care of with the parchment paper.

5. Wrap them in plastic and refrigerate or freeze until firm.

6. Use gel food coloring in your frosting because it doesn't water down the consistency much; but don't use Wilton - it sucks. I use Americolor or Ateco (Ateco is available at Sur La Table among other places I'm sure).

7. Buy your extracts and other specialty items (like high quality cocoa/chocolate) at a gourmet food store or specialty kitchen store like Sur La Table. Believe it or not, it is usually much cheaper than what you will find at the grocery store. I can get a 4oz bottle of high quality lemon extract for 6.95 at Sur La Table, that at the grocery store costs $5 PER OUNCE.

Now, without further adieu:

Chocolate Fudge Cake

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed DARK brown sugar

1 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (IMO it doesn't NEED to be Dutch processed because it is pricey, but if you want to do it right for a special occasion it does make a small difference)

2 and 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 and 1/2 tsp salt

2 and 1/4 cups buttermilk (you can substitute with milk and vinegar [1 tbsp per cup of milk] if you have an oh shit I don't have that moment, but use the real thing if you've got it)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

6 oz melted semisweet fine quality chocolate (Bakers brand will do)

Heat the oven until 325 or 350. If you've got patience you will have much more even cooking results at 325.

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl (constantly if you're anal about following recipes to the T).

Blend in the melted chocolate. I have a tip at this point. Before you preheat your oven and measure the ingredients, put the chocolate in the pan on the stove and don't turn on the burner. The heat from the oven when preheating will melt the chocolate very evenly and nicely if you've got a cheapie stove like I do.

Mix on high speed for 3 minutes. If you've got a Kitchen aid like I do (oooh I like my Gloria!), it may take less time. You will notice a consistency change in the batter, it will become fluffy. That's where you want it.

Pour into pans and smooth. Then lift the pans and drop them several times on the counter. Then stand on your head and spin around while twiddling your thumbs and singing "You've Got a Friend in Me". Just kidding, but seriously, do the pan dropping thing, it helps to alleviate air bubbles. Use this as a general rule of thumb when baking cakes.

This will make two nice sized 8" layers. For my 9" and 4" layers I used a recipe and a half and it was plenty.

Bake for 50-75 minutes depending on your oven temperature. They say that when the toothpick comes out clean it's overcooked, but I've always used this rule and my cakes are never dry.

Are you still with me? Are you ready for the Lemon Supreme cake that I find "okay", but non-chocolate lovers find fabulous? Here goes:

Lemon Supreme Pound Cake

(I usually double - but for this particular cake you wouldn't need it unless you want scraps for filling and that's another topic for another day)

1 box Lemon Supreme cake mix (Duncan Hines is the best for cake mixes)

1 box Lemon Jello

1 Cup Hot Water for the Jello

3/4 cup Vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 TBSP lemon extract

Dissolve the Jello in the hot water and mix the rest of the ingredients while the water is becoming one with the Jello.

Add the dissolved Jello

Bake.

Yup, that's it.
Again, cooking times vary depending on oven temperature. The cake will look very crispy very quickly, but that's okay, the inside is still moist.

The BEST Buttercream frosting ever

(provided you like powdered sugar based frosting's):

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup vegetable or hi-ration shortening (yeah, fancy words...just use solid Crisco)

1 and 1/2 tsp Lemon extract (you can actually substitute with any extract, including vanilla, but lemon really works well and gives the frosting a nice subtle touch that you do not get with vanilla)

3 lbs confectioners sugar (technically you should sift, but who the heck has time for that?)

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water - start with just the 1/2 cup and add the tbsp if you need it.

3 TBSP meringue powder (you can find this with the Wilton Cake Deco Supplies at craft stores. It is NOT a necessity, but very helpful during the warmer months in stabilizing the frosting)

1 tsp salt

Cream the butter and Crisco (or whatever). It should be nice and creamy, not lumpy at all.

Add the extract and salt.

Add Confectioners sugar one cup at a time (but I usually cheat and add more, it depends on how much *poof* you want from the sugar and what your mixer can handle - but you definitely need an electric mixer).

When all of the sugar is added, mix in the meringue powder. Your mixture may become too dry before this point, if it does, you may add a small amount of water to help.

Add the water or milk (if you so choose) and mix for 7-8 minutes (again, Kitchen Aid's need less) until light and fluffy.

Sample for quality.

Then sample again for good measure.

And sample a third time for prosperity.

Oh heck, sample until you feel sick to your stomach so that you can resist the finished cake.

Note: Even though you can store this (freeze for up to two months) - I make this right before I'm ready to decorate because it has the best consistency at this point. If you do store it before making, make sure you mix it again in the mixer before using on the cake.

Now, if you want to decorate it like the above cake, umm, I have no advice. It was a modge podge flurry of color and I'm actually quite surprised it did not collapse. Okay, well it didn't collapse because I at least know how to support a cake, but the rest of it was just a lot of dye on my hands and coupler changes (for the frosting tips).

I know there are a few of you out there who are going to be making cakes soon and have expressed interest in getting advice from this non-expert. Please don't hesitate to email me at sugarbunz at gmail dot com. It would make me feel important :)

Garden Time

I literally threw this cake together. I decided at about 1:30 this afternoon that I had a cake making bug up my butt and went out to the store to get the supplies I needed. I figure the "messyness" is okay because it's kind of a nature-ish cake. Yeah, it was intentional, mmm hmmm, yeah that's it.

Chocolate fudge cake with cookies and cream buttercream filling and buttercream frosting.

And here's a small picture of another cake I did for a coworker for giving me his monitor. It's really hideous up close so you only get a little peek!


Hey, I had to make lavendar and mint frosting into manly colors, and this is really the only color combo I could think of that would work.

The Birthday Cake

Here it is, the cake I made for my mom's birthday. It was good, but I am not a big cheesecake fan so I could have done without the layer of cheesecake.



Mom loved it so it's all good.

Chocolate Fudge cake with chocolate (Godiva liquer) frosting, Cream cheese frosting, and a layer of plain ole cheesecake.

The Return of Lady Godiva

She's aged a little so she is not as beautiful as she once was. Actually, this was just a simple cake I was making for home. I have some leftover Godiva frosting in the freezer so I decided to use part of it tonight.

This cake was honestly not worth the work. I am having a rough go of it with cakes lately, and I think part of it is the heat. I get more clumsy the hotter I am. In a cheaply built apartment, when it's 100 degrees outside, the oven heats the entire place up quickly even with the air conditioning on. I know my latest cakes have not been as stellar as previously, and I think the heat is a huge contributing factor.

I had heard that Blue Bonnett margarine worked wonderfully in frostings so I gave it a whirl. First, I decided to put it in a chocolate fudge cake I made tonight for later in the week (it will be part of a small three tier). Usually, the batter in this recipe almost "whips" up as it is beaten. It goes from a very liquidy texture, to a light and fluffy cream. It didn't do it tonight and the cakes came out more flat and uneven than usual, but still usable. I thought maybe I just screwed up something in the recipe...

Until I tried to make buttercream roses that contained just half a stick of the Blue Bonnett, two sticks of regular butter, and a quarter cup of Crisco. I had identical results with the buttercream as I did with the cake batter. Even though the frosting was thick, it was runny...if that's even possible! Just the small amount of margarine threw the "creamy" factor way off. So I had to scrap the roses and just go hog wild with the number 2 tip on the cake. The table was shaking a lot by a certain little three year old who wishes to remain anonymous, sorta accidentally on-purpose sticking his hands in the frosting poopies. Frosting poopies = frosting that's dropped on the table on it's way from the bowl to the cake. Aren't ya hungry now?

The cake itself is a white cake with some chocolate and raspberry extract in it. It's a variation of the white almond sour cream cake. It is filled with the same chocolate buttercream that covers it, and I must say it tastes much more fabulous than it looks!

A little somethin' somethin'

I hereby dub thee...

"Lushious Lady Cake". Emphasis on the mispelling of "luscious" because this puppy is infused with Godiva Liquer. The recipe for chocolate buttercream came from the same book I've got all of my favorite recipes from so I wanted to make it right. Which means when it called for Godiva liquer, I went out and bought an expensive little bottle of the stuff. The frosting has approximately five buckaroonies worth of alcohol in it.

I didn't think the alcohol would be noticable, and as you might guess, it's nearly impossible not to sample the goods to ensure quality when making a cake. No, I didn't pour myself alcoholic chocolate on the rocks, but I did have my fair share of boozy frosting. After about two tablespoons I actually felt dizzy! I'm not a lightweight by any means, so I can only guess the sugar mixed with the alcohol had some kind of special effect on me; but nevertheless this cake will not be going to it's intended recipients: My mom's coworkers. The last thing she needs is to get blamed for a workplace full of drunkards.

The cake itself is Chocolate Fudge. It's funny, but the first time I tried the recipe I didn't care for it, now it is my hands down favorite. I filled it with raspberry flavored buttercream, and covered it with the Godiva infused chocolate buttercream. Honestly, it's ok. I will have a piece later (shucks) to determine if I think it's really just ok, or if when mixed with the flavor of the cake and the filling if I like it.

This was also a good excuse to practice buttercream roses. They are still eluding me with their ragged edges, but I am now convinced it's the consistency of the frosting, not the inexperience of my hand that is causing the problem.

I went a little crazy with the scrolls because they are one of my favorite cake effects, andthere are many MANY mistakes, but the overall effect is very pretty I think. Once I realized that there was no way I was sending this to work with my mom I just had a hay day without regard to how many mistakes I made.

This is one cake my son will not be sampling!