Naked Wedding Cake

My eldest daughter, Amanda, was married on December 23 to her Marine, Tyler.

During the planning for the wedding, she told me she wanted me to make her wedding cake. I'd made my own, using tips gathered when I worked at The Flying Dutchman in Anchorage, Alaska. I had confidence I could do this for her. Then she said she wanted a Naked Wedding Cake. Wait, what?

A Pinterest search later, and I had a grasp of what was going to be needed. NO FROSTING! For a Rustic Look. During our search, we spotted some pine cones as a cake topper with a little top hat and a veil. We immediately tweaked the idea (when haven't we tweaked?) and her sister, Bethany, and I decided to make a Marine Corps Cover and a Nurse's Hat with a veil out of FIMO clay. Tyler sent me pictures of what his hat looked like so we were making the right version. We then found the perfect candle ring to surround the two pine cones. At Target we found the cutest little red berry picks that we then placed around the base of the cake. We lightly glued the topper to a cardboard circle that we then placed on the cake.

After the wedding we glued the pine cones to a base for display in their new home.

I made my own cake pan wraps out of towels to help the cake bake more evenly. Will admit to having made a couple test cakes! I was worried that the cake would get those dry, crunchy edges once we set it up. So one test cake was left on the counter for the day. It actually stayed nice and moist! I had read that if one used the bigger pans, one would need "cores" to make the centers cook clear through. I didn't need it for the 12 inch layers. We used a 14 inch Wilton plastic footed circle under the bottom cake as a base.

For the bottom layer, Amanda chose Black Forest Cake. I mixed and baked two cakes mixes separately in the 12 inch pan. And instead of using oil, I melted butter and added a splash of vanilla to the chocolate fudge mix. I read where one should use HOT water in a chocolate cake mix as it activates the chocolate. I don't know if that's true, but I did it. And the cake tasted great.

The middle layer was Red Velvet Cake. Again, I mixed and baked the two layers separately and used butter in the mix instead of the oil. The pan I used was a 10 inch pan.

The top layer was Italian Cream Cake from scratch. The recipe can be found here: Italian Cream Cake. I used 8 inch pans for the two layers (while I usually use three pans when I make the recipe). These two I baked in the oven at the same time.

I made the cakes the week before the wedding. When each layer was totally cool, I placed it on a cardboard circle and double wrapped it in cling wrap and froze them. Yes, we had tested the method earlier. The test cakes thawed out nicely. I also tested the way the cake topper would fit on the top layer.

While the layers were naked, we used homemade cream cheese frosting for the filling on all three cakes. It was just softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. The day before the wedding, I put the layers together with their fillings while they were still frozen, and then re-wrapped them and put them back in the freezer.

I added pureed cherry pie filling to a dollop of the frosting for the Black Forest Layer. First though, I piped a dam of frosting around the edge of the bottom-most layer to keep the filling from spilling out. I made a sort of pattern with little "puffs" of frosting.

The Red Velvet and Italian Cream cakes had the cream cheese frosting between the layers. I also "puffed" out the frosting to keep the pattern the same between the layers on the entire cake.

From my research, I knew to use wooden dowels for support. That Italian Cream cake, in particular, is very heavy! After I got the layers together and placed on cardboard circles slightly smaller than the cake itself, I measured and cut the dowels and poked them through the two stacked layers. I used at least six in each one, making sure to put one in the middle of the cake. I cut them off just a smidge above the cake so that the cardboard would sit on the dowels, and not on the cake below it. The dowels keep the layers from SLIDING apart! We certainly didn't want the WEDDING CAKE sliding!

We took the frozen layers to the church on the wedding day. I set the cake up about two hours before the ceremony. We sprinkled powdered sugar (and I wish I had sprinkled a thicker layer) over the entire thing, then set the cake topper on it.

The Italian Cream cake was still a bit frozen when my new son-in-law started the traditional cut. He had to work at it a little bit! The other layers had thawed enough for our wonderful wedding coordinator, Thersa, to slice it for our guests. The guests liked having the choice of what kind of cake to eat. And they were welcome to have seconds or thirds. We had about 80 people at the reception, and still brought home about half the cake! We froze the leftovers and have been consuming it slowly.

We are very pleased with the outcome. Everyone loved the cake topper. And people raved over the taste of the cake itself.

Photo credits go to me, Pam R., and Marissa.

Easy Chocolate Roll-Up

I received this recipe when I was working as a horse wrangler at a hunting lodge along the White River in Alaska. Doug Vaden's cook, Myra, gave it to me. This is a staple of our Christmas celebrations. This past year I made three.

White River Valley, Alaska

Easy Chocolate Roll-Up

Kathie L. Spitz

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375 degrees

FILLING:

1/4 cup butter

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 can Eagle Brand CONDENSED Milk (not evaporated)

LINE 15x10 inch cookie sheet (WITH SHORT SIDES) with tin foil

SPRAY with PAM

MELT butter in pan in the oven, watch carefully.

REMOVE from oven and SPRINKLE the melted butter with nuts and coconut

DRIZZLE with entire can of condensed milk, make sure to get to the edges in the corners

SET ASIDE

Cake Batter:

2      eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

2/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup water

BEAT eggs by hand

ADD all the rest and BEAT by hand together

POUR evenly over butter/nut/coconut/milk mixture in pan

BAKE at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes

DO NOT OVER BAKE

SPRINKLE immediately with powdered sugar

COVER with a SMOOTH tea towel or pillowcase

TURN the pan over CAREFULLY

REMOVE the tin foil IMMEDIATELY

Starting with the 15 inch side ROLL UP TIGHTLY, jelly roll fashion

BE SURE AND MOVE THE TOWEL!!!!! Pictures below

LEAVE wrapped until cool

SLICES easier when totally cool

I like to mix the coconut and nuts together before I sprinkle it on the melted butter.

Besides pecans or walnuts, we've also used sliced almonds and pecans.

Totally YOUR choice of nut...

Make sure to get the filling mixture clear to the edges

Again, make sure the sweetened condensed milk is evenly drizzled over the filling mixture

I also like to mix the flour, sugar, soda, salt and cocoa together in a small bowl before I add it to the beaten eggs

This is one batter we don't like to lick the bowl over as it's a bit bitter from all the cocoa. Pour it evenly over the condensed milk and filling mixture. 

Hmmm...looks red, don't know why...

When it's done (don't over bake!) IMMEDIATELY sift some powdered sugar over the hot cake.

Then place your pillowcase or smooth towel over the sugared cake and 

FLIP it over onto a flat counter.

QUICKLY and CAREFULLY remove the hot pan

...and IMMEDIATELY peel the tinfoil off the hot cake. 

You may have to use a knife to put some of the sticky filling back onto the cake

Then you start rolling the cake along the LONG side. This is the "magic" part. DON'T ROLL THE TOWEL INTO THE CAKE. 

Why yes, I am using my TEETH as a third hand. 

Roll it somewhat tightly, using your hands to keep the roll smooth and compacted. Continue rolling until it's all neat and tidy.

Finish by continuing to roll the towel AROUND the hot roll-up.

Leave it on the counter until it's cool.

Or...leave it for a short while, until you can't stand it anymore, 

and then unroll the towel and cut a slice...or three...off and eat!

It does cut MUCH easier when it's very cool.

Having a glass of hot water to dip your knife in (then wipe the water off) 

makes it easier to slice, too.

My children always used to think it was MAGIC...the way the towel didn't roll into the cake. 

This one is a FIVE STAR RATING from the entire family. 

We hope you enjoy it too!

Halloween Party Snacks

We had a Halloween Party this past weekend. The girls hosted a murder mystery, written by Bethany, and a costume party. Lots of fun was had by all.

And lots of snacks were eaten!

I thought the Mummy Dogs were very cute...and so easy.

We used one package of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and cut the dough into very thin strips. We wrapped the strips around hot dogs that we had cut in half. We were looking for finger food, not an entire entree. Then Delaney used a toothpick to put green food color eyes on the mummies. Baked them at 375 for 12-16 minutes. The hot dogs were Cheddarwurst, Beef, and Turkey dogs. The Cheddarwurst sort of "blew out" which made them even creepier looking!

Also on deck were Monster Eyeballs... Devilled eggs with green olive eyes! To add an extra measure of creepiness, I let the peeled hard boiled eggs sit in a some red food coloring with white vinegar for a few minutes.

To top the evening off, Amanda and I made Broken Glass Cupcakes! We've seen several of these posted at Pinterest and we used portions of EasyBaked's Recipe for the most part.

For the glass, we used almond flavoring.

I think if we made it again, we'd spray Quick Release Aluminum Foil instead of waxed paper. 

Don't they look yummy? And they really were easy.

White Texas Sheet Cake



White Texas Sheet Cake



Before I made a Texas Sheet Cake to take to the therapy riding stable we volunteer at, the family and I went to see PACIFIC RIM. I didn't know a lot about the movie. All I heard was that it was a combination of GODZILLA and TRANSFORMERS. I like action movies and I liked both of those movies, so this seemed like a WIN.

OH MY GOSH WAS IT!
Non-stop action...CUTE Guys...ROBOTS...MONSTERS...EXPLOSIONS...a TOUCH of ROMANCE. Yep, this had it all. I guess it isn't doing so good in the box office and I'm not sure why. It had all those SUMMER FUN aspects. In fact, I think I have to see it again! There was just so much happening, that I think I missed some of it. Yes, it was good fun.

Okay, on to the cake. Last week I saw a recipe on Pinterest that looked pretty good. The blog post was a riot and she really sold me on the cake. Her recipe is slightly different than mine, because, you know I had to tweak it to suit the ingredients I had on hand.

I don't think it hurt this at all. WE LOVE IT. And I'm pretty sure the kids at stable are going to love it too.

You really should read the blog post where I got this. It may tickle your funny bone, too:

Fudgy Vanilla Brownie

Author: Kristen Duke

My Tweaked
WHITE TEXAS SHEET CAKE recipe:


Heat oven to 350

Grease and flour jelly roll pan (9x15)

Cake:

Mix together in a large bowl and set aside:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

In a small pot, melt together over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often:
1 cup butter
1 cup half and half (original recipe called for heavy whipping cream, which I didn't have)

To the flour add:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (recipe called for sour cream, which I didn't have)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract (original recipe called for 1 tsp almond, not nearly enough for our tastes!)

Pour the hot cream/butter into the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Prepare frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract (you don't really NEED this much, but we like to TASTE it!)

Spread over warm cake

Enjoy!
 

THIS is a FIVE OUT OF FIVE from the family!

AND the stable family loved it, too:

 

 

Updated 8/7/2013

I made another one of these for Amanda's Child of God Day. What's a Child of God Day? Well, since she and my middle daughter share the same birthday, two years apart, we decided that we would celebrate their Baptism Day...not with gifts, but they get to choose the dessert of the day.

Today Amanda chose the White Texas Sheet Cake, but with THREE different glaze flavors. We have the almond, chocolate, and lemon! We just divided up the almond frosting into three bowls and put cocoa in one, and the zest of one lemon and about a tablespoon of the fresh lemon juice.

It turned out YUMMY!

And it's pretty, too!

 

Fresh Apple Cake by It's a Lifestyle, Not a Fad

.

Fresh Apple ~ Blueberry Cake

Today on Facebook I saw this super easy cake recipe. The family are almost home from a three-day vacation and this looks like the right thing to welcome them home with.

The cake was shared by a Facebook Group called It's a Lifestyle, Not a Fad and you can click on the name and ask to be admitted to the closed group.

When I first saw it, I thought that it would be great with blueberries, but Delaney isn't fond of that fruit so I decided to do half apples and half berries. A friend, Krissy, says she wants the bit from where the fruits meet!

This is three apples and about three cups of frozen blueberries:

Here it is sprinkled with the dry cake mix and one stick of melted butter. I almost used the Smart Start...but decided against it, although that would have worked, too.

My pan holds the same amount as a 9x13 pan, but this particular baking dish is a Polish Pottery one of slightly odd dimensions.










Here is the recipe as posted on Facebook:

Fresh Apple Cake

Layer your apple slices (or other fruit) at the bottom of a pan (9x11) that has been coated with non-stick spray.
Sprinkle on boxed cake mix.
Pour 1/2 cup of melted butter over the fruit and dry cake mix.
Bake at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes -- it's done when it is nice and bubbly.


Since I used frozen blueberries, it took a little longer. I just kept watching to make sure that it was bubbly in the middle.

Now that I've done it once, I think my tweak would be to only use HALF of the dry cake mix. Or maybe add a cup of apple juice to the fruit. My fruit didn't make it quite moist enough.

I'm going to give this a FAMILY RATING of

 

THREE OUT OF FIVE

As three of us liked it and two just thought: meh.

When I pointed out the apples for Delaney, she said:

You know I don't like cooked apples EITHER.

 

 

Cooking is always an adventure for this family.

It was easy peasy! Let me know how YOURS turns out!

Italian Cream Cake by Mary Beth Jeanes

Tomorrow is my youngest child's birthday. I always make this cake for MY birthday, and it was a very pleasant surprise when she stated that she wanted this cake for hers!  This one is pretty labor intensive, but it is so worth it. Now, you'll notice that the picture looks a bit...weird. That's because purple is my child's favorite color, so we tinted the cake itself lavender. It's usually a lovely yellow cake color. But even with the odd color, this tastes FABULOUS! If (when!) you taste the batter, this is what CAKE BATTER is supposed to taste like. I don't mind using mixes, but if you want a REAL YELLOW CAKE, this is the recipe for you!

I got the recipe from the cookbook that the Officers' Wives Club at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida offered many years ago. It's just a bonus that the recipe was submitted by a good friend of mine.

Now, you'll also notice that there are NO NUTS in this cake pic...that's because the PURPLE LOVING GIRL also hates pecans...so, I'm sure your rendition of this cake will be prettier and fully loaded with pecans!

Italian Cream Cake

Mary Beth Jeanes

5 eggs, separated

2 sticks oleo (I used butter)

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup coconut

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stiffen egg whites in a small bowl and set aside. 

In another bowl, cream oleo and sugar. 

Add egg yolks, one at a time. 

Mix flour and soda together then add to oleo mixture, alternating with buttermilk. 

Add coconut and vanilla. 

Fold in egg whites. 

Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans. 

Bake 25 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert, remove the pan, and finish cooling on wire racks.

The cake will be tall when removed from oven, but will then fall, it's supposed to do that so that the layers are DENSE.

Frost with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 8 ounce pkg. Cream cheese

1 cup chopped pecans

1 stick oleo (I used butter)

16 ounces powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Soften cream cheese and oleo.

Mix well then add powdered  sugar

Spread on bottom layer and sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans

Repeat with second layer.

Add remaining layer and ice entire cake.

Sprinkle remaining pecans over entire cake. 

This cake is so rich, that a very thin wedge is enough, but then you can  eat TWO! Of course, when you see the color of THIS particular cake, you might think twice! Kind of a weird lavender gray thing...I'll update the pics when I make the NEXT one!

It really IS a lovely YELLOW CAKE!

Although my youngest told my oldest that since this was rather an UNDEAD color, that maybe the eldest would like the same color cake, with GREEN icing...that way it would really ROCK the ZOMBIE CAKE LOOK. Ah, I love my kids!

This gets a Family Rating of

Five out of Five!

even with the odd color!

Editing to add a NEW picture. This time, the natural color of this lovely cake batter...with blue frosting. Because it was my 55th birthday cake and I like blue. I also love Swedish Fish...red...and there you have my 55 on the top in FISH. Also, this one has almonds instead of pecans, as the majority of the family like those better than the other. It was yummy: