Ruffled cake, Wilton and M's birthday.....
I have been dreaming of making a ruffled cake ever since I saw Tania's but I never had the courage try it :) I decided to take a break from baking after my last cupcake post, I figured the blog was becoming more of a baking blog and brown seemed to be the prevailing color! But I also decided that when I get back, I would do a ruffled cake and for M's birthday. So, a perfect occasion for a dream project :)
I also signed up for Wilton's Basic Decorating course in the meantime. I am 3 classes into it and loving it. This is great course for even those who have been baking and decorating for a while. You learn some very useful tips and techniques in a class!
I picked the recipe, shape, color and design about 2 months back. I came across this post on Apollinas and it was love at first sight and who wouldn't love that cake, aren't her pictures gorgeous?! I have never baked a cake with egg before so too many first-times here and that made me nervous :)
Blue Velvet Ruffle Cake
Idea courtesy: Apollina @ Apollinas
Recipe: Paula Deen
2 cups sugar
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well after each addition. Sift together flour and salt and add the cocoa powder to it and mix well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to the creamed mixture but make sure to alternate between the two (helps to avoid lumps). Add the food colors, vanilla and give it a final stir. I used the hand mixer up until this point. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add it to the batter and mix well.
Cake pan: The original recipe calls for three 8" pans but I baked it in one 8" x 3" (height) pan. This took me 20-30 minutes longer than the time mentioned in the original recipe. The cake did get done finally and it passed the toothpick test but I think, I was too anxious and may have started to tort a little too early. I realized it was still undone in the center. I obviously didn't want to waste the cake and was too sad to start all over again so I tried my best to salvage the cake but finally decided to put that aside and go get a another pan and start fresh. So, this time I baked it in two 8"pans, I let it cool in the pan for an hour and flipped it over and let it sit overnight just to be sure. I had to get it right this time!
Cake lifter: I think this tool is a must while making layered cakes
I also signed up for Wilton's Basic Decorating course in the meantime. I am 3 classes into it and loving it. This is great course for even those who have been baking and decorating for a while. You learn some very useful tips and techniques in a class!
I picked the recipe, shape, color and design about 2 months back. I came across this post on Apollinas and it was love at first sight and who wouldn't love that cake, aren't her pictures gorgeous?! I have never baked a cake with egg before so too many first-times here and that made me nervous :)
Blue Velvet Ruffle Cake
Idea courtesy: Apollina @ Apollinas
Recipe: Paula Deen
2 cups sugar
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 ounces blue food coloring
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well after each addition. Sift together flour and salt and add the cocoa powder to it and mix well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to the creamed mixture but make sure to alternate between the two (helps to avoid lumps). Add the food colors, vanilla and give it a final stir. I used the hand mixer up until this point. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add it to the batter and mix well.
Pour batter into pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool for 45minutes to an hour. After that, flip it over and let it sit for some more time before you start torting the cakes.
Cake pan: The original recipe calls for three 8" pans but I baked it in one 8" x 3" (height) pan. This took me 20-30 minutes longer than the time mentioned in the original recipe. The cake did get done finally and it passed the toothpick test but I think, I was too anxious and may have started to tort a little too early. I realized it was still undone in the center. I obviously didn't want to waste the cake and was too sad to start all over again so I tried my best to salvage the cake but finally decided to put that aside and go get a another pan and start fresh. So, this time I baked it in two 8"pans, I let it cool in the pan for an hour and flipped it over and let it sit overnight just to be sure. I had to get it right this time!
Cake lifter: I think this tool is a must while making layered cakes
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Buttercream Icing (recipe for 1 batch)
Recipe source: Wilton
You need about 3 batches of the following recipe
Vegetable shortening - 1 cup
Vanilla flavor - 1tsp (Almond or Butter flavor are other options)
Water - 7-8 tsp
Pure Cane confectioner's sugar - 1 lb
Food gel color - I used a dab of Wilton Sky Blue
Salt - a pinch (optional) - I skipped the salt but if you don't like your icing too sweet this helps to cut some of the sweetness
In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, vanilla and water using a hand mixer. Add the sugar and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have mixed together. Blend for an extra minute. This will be a stiff consistency. For medium consistency, add 1 tsp of water for each cup of stiff consistency icing. For thin consistency, 2 tsp of water for each cup of stiff consistency icing.
Consistency: I used a thin consistency for the layers and for icing the cake and a medium consistency for decorating.
Quantity: a big lesson I learnt, always make more icing than you think you might need. It's good to have a lot of icing made, colored and ready. I used about 1/2 a batch of icing for the 2 "white" layers. The rest of the icing was used for the 1 "blue" layer, for icing the cake and the ruffles. It would be a little difficult if you ran out of icing while icing the cake! Luckily, I ran out of icing while making the ruffles so I just popped the cake in the refrigerator while I prepared the next batch of icing and then continued with the ruffles. Another reason it's better to have the icing ready is you get an ever color around the cake. You can see two shades of blue on my cake. It didn't kill our birthday party but I would definitely take care of that next time.
This was a challenging yet fun project. With all the goof-ups and flops, I learned so much about baking, icing and decorating! The cake was a big hit, the birthday boy and our guests loved it. With all my notes, to-dos and not-to-dos in mind, I am definitely trying this one again :)
Recipe source: Wilton
You need about 3 batches of the following recipe
Vegetable shortening - 1 cup
Vanilla flavor - 1tsp (Almond or Butter flavor are other options)
Water - 7-8 tsp
Pure Cane confectioner's sugar - 1 lb
Food gel color - I used a dab of Wilton Sky Blue
Salt - a pinch (optional) - I skipped the salt but if you don't like your icing too sweet this helps to cut some of the sweetness
In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, vanilla and water using a hand mixer. Add the sugar and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have mixed together. Blend for an extra minute. This will be a stiff consistency. For medium consistency, add 1 tsp of water for each cup of stiff consistency icing. For thin consistency, 2 tsp of water for each cup of stiff consistency icing.
Consistency: I used a thin consistency for the layers and for icing the cake and a medium consistency for decorating.
Quantity: a big lesson I learnt, always make more icing than you think you might need. It's good to have a lot of icing made, colored and ready. I used about 1/2 a batch of icing for the 2 "white" layers. The rest of the icing was used for the 1 "blue" layer, for icing the cake and the ruffles. It would be a little difficult if you ran out of icing while icing the cake! Luckily, I ran out of icing while making the ruffles so I just popped the cake in the refrigerator while I prepared the next batch of icing and then continued with the ruffles. Another reason it's better to have the icing ready is you get an ever color around the cake. You can see two shades of blue on my cake. It didn't kill our birthday party but I would definitely take care of that next time.
This was a challenging yet fun project. With all the goof-ups and flops, I learned so much about baking, icing and decorating! The cake was a big hit, the birthday boy and our guests loved it. With all my notes, to-dos and not-to-dos in mind, I am definitely trying this one again :)
No way! You made this? Man you are a pro now:) Looks great!
ReplyDeleteLove your blue take on the cake Anu.. The end product looks awesome as well...
ReplyDeletehttp://turtlecraftygirl.blogspot.com/
thanks Tania, the credit for the color/design goes to www.apollinas.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I will bookmark and be back again
ReplyDeleteBirthday Cakes in Chennai
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you
Birthday Cakes in Chennai