Saturday, April 16, 2011

Real Simple Yellow Cake with Strawberry Filling and Vanilla Icing

The May issue of Real Simple has a neat article with multiple cakes, frostings, filings and toppings.  The recipes can be converted into sheet cakes, layer cakes and cupcakes, and allegedly there are over 256,000 potential cakes that can be made from this article.

I decided to go with the yellow cake, strawberry filling, vanilla icing and fresh strawberry topping, with the following changes:
  • I realized at the last minute we had no baking soda (oops), so I added more baking powder.
  • I accidentally liquefied the strawberries instead of just pulsing them (oops again), so I chopped up some additional fresh strawberries and added them to to the filling
  • I skipped the glazing of the topping (and you can make do with less than a quart - I had a lot leftover.  Fortunately, we like strawberries).
Here's some step by step documentation:

Cakes cooking on wire racks - I didn't drop them.  YAY.
The recipe said the cakes should take 22-25 minutes.  I felt mine needed to go a little longer in my oven.  Also, I was glad I took the time to butter the pans, add parchment, and butter again.  After the prescribed 15 minute cooling time in the pans, they slid right out onto the racks without breaking.






The filling that ate North Bethesda
 Next came the filling - thanks to my pureeing mishap, it was probably gooier than I intended.  Putting it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before I frosted, like the recipe suggested, was a smart move.  Especially since the stuff kept falling on my feet.  I looked like something out of a George Romero movie.








VOILA - CAKE!

The finished product!  The gooey filling make my icing a little pink, but I think it's pretty (that's what I'm telling myself anyway) and the little strawberry bits offset the pact that there is a pound of confectioners sugar in the icing. 










A couple of baking tips I used here that I generally find helpful:
  • Get a mesh strainer if you don't have one - it's great for sifting flour and confectioners sugar.  I have one with two little hooks on it so you can rest it on a mixing bowl and pour your dry ingredients right into the strainer without jugging the whole shebang.
  • When cutting parchment paper to fit a round cakepan, make little snips around the side in the shape of the circle, take it off the pan, and connect the snips.  I felt like a genius when I did this today.
  • If you are going to make your own buttercream, have a good mixer.  I tried making buttercream a few years ago before I had the stand mixer and my hand mixer made horrible, gasping sounds.  It also helps when the butter is a room temp.
  • Speaking of room temp, yes, like the recipe says, eggs and butter should be at room temp when you bake.  It really does make a difference in how well everything comes together.

4 comments:

  1. >> When cutting parchment paper to fit a round cakepan, make little snips around the side in the shape of the circle, take it off the pan, and connect the snips. I felt like a genius when I did this today.

    I'm having a hard time picturing this. Do you have a visual or could you elaborate?

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  2. Jen, I am making another cake this week, so I will do the parchment cutting trick again. I'll take pictures while I'm doing it and include it in the blog.

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  3. Jen - I didn't end up posting the pictures of how I do the parchment paper after all, given all the issues I had getting the cake to rise. But, here's a verbal description. Hopefully, it's helpful.

    1. Cut a square or rectangle of parchment paper larger than your round pan.
    2. Lay paper on top of pan so that the edges are completely covered and there's at least a slight overhang.
    3. Think of your paper/pan combo as a clock. Holding the paper steady, cut straight from the edge of the paper to the edge of the pan at 6:00, 9:00, 12:00 and 3:00.
    4. Next, cut diagonally from the edge of the paper to the edge of the pan between each snip. Your paper should now resemble a flower with petals.
    5. Remove paper and cut off the "petals." You should be left with a circle. Trim as needed to fit in the pan.

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