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Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

By: Pfoinkle

Chocolate Buttercream

Chocolate Buttercream

This is a great chocolate buttercream frosting for people who love a rich and buttery frosting that is shortening free.

It’s soft, creamy and makes gentle peaks. This chocolate buttercream recipe spreads easily and has a warm chocolate glow.

Added bonus? It’s super easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 14 oz (3.5 “sticks”) room temperature butter
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 – 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 6 – 7 cups powdered sugar (approximately 1.5 pounds)
  • 7 tbsp milk

Directions

  1. Thoroughly cream butter, vanilla, and one cup of powdered sugar.
  2. Add one cup of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk. Beat thoroughly at medium speed.
  3. Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder.
  4. Repeat step #2 until you have added all of the milk and powdered sugar, repeat step #3 to taste (up to 1 cup of cocoa).
  5. Beat for an additional 5-7 minutes at medium speed.

Yield: Approximately five cups of frosting.

Because this is a shortening-free frosting, it is softer than many people expect. For a stiffer frosting, try decreasing the milk or adding more powdered sugar (whichever suits your tastebuds better).

Oh, and be forewarned — cocoa powder puts up more dust than powdered sugar, so until it’s blended in, keep those mixers on low speed. :D

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Sponge Cake Recipe – Basic,quick and easy

By: Deb

This is a very easy sponge cake mix recipe. It is a great cake for decorating as it is a firm crumbed cake that handles well.

It’s a simple and fast cake recipe and you can take as much care as you wish in preparing it. The quicker and less time taken will result in a denser cake, yet just as delicious.

This cake batter can be adapted and changed, as I will show in future articles but will ultimately give a firm, tasty sponge cake that can be shaped and decorated with Buttercream or Fondant icing with confidence

Sponge cake recipe –The basic recipe

Weigh eggs (minimum of two)
Weigh out the equivalent quantities of:
Butter/margarine
Self-raising flour- sifted
Castor (Superfine)sugar

Couple drops of vanilla essence
Have a couple of teaspoons of milk handy

Place the softened (minimum room temperature) in a bowl and add the Castor sugar. This is the one time, apart from sifting the flour, we get to add any air to the cake so beat together until it is light and fluffy and has lightened in colour considerably.If using a reasonably light coloured butter the mixture will almost be white when ready. This can be done by hand with a wooden spoon but will be quicker and kinder to the baker if you use an electrical beater or whisk of some kind. It does not have to specifically be a mixer, a food processor will do.

Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour to the mix and combine. When ready add the second egg and another tablespoon of flour and continue until all eggs have been combined. Add the vanilla essence and mix in.

Slowly, fold in the rest of the flour in a third at a time.
If the mixture feels stiff add a couple of teaspoons of milk and fold in. If you are not sure about the consistency of the cake add the milk anyway.

The cake batter is now ready to be used in whichever way you choose. For individual Fairy cakes, novelty shaped birthday cakes, or just filled with fruit and cream.

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Butteriest Buttercream Frosting

By: Pfoinkle

Butteriest Buttercream Frosting

A fresh batch of the Butteriest Buttercream Frosting.

This is the best buttercream frosting for people who love a rich and buttery tasting frosting (and for those who prefer a shortening-free frosting).

It’s a soft and creamy frosting that makes gentle peaks, spreads easily, and has a warm glow.

Added bonus? It’s super easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 14 oz (3.5 “sticks”) room temperature butter
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 7 cups powdered sugar (approximately 2 pounds)*
  • 6 tbsp milk

Directions

  1. Thoroughly cream butter, vanilla, and one cup of powdered sugar.
  2. Add one cup of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk. Beat thoroughly at medium speed.
  3. Repeat step #2 until you have added all of the milk and powdered sugar.
  4. Beat for an additional 5-7 minutes at medium speed.

Yield: Approximately five cups of frosting.

For flavor, this frosting recipe is my absolute favorite and always my first choice for dressing up a cake.

However, if your cake will be attending the company’s summer picnic and expected to stand up to a sunny day, you might prefer the Bright White Buttercream Frosting which substitutes shortening for part of the butter. The shortening makes for a stiffer and sturdier frosting, less prone to wilting in the summer heat.

*For a stiffer frosting add up to one and one-half cups additional powdered sugar (one half cup at a time) until you reach the desired consistency and flavor.

1/2 Batch

To make half a batch, follow the instructions above, but use the following list of ingredients

  • 8 oz (2 “sticks”) room temperature butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar (approximately 1 pound)
  • 3-4 tbsp milk

Yield: Approximately three cups of frosting.

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