So as I told you I've started the third and final Wilton Course for cake decorating. Last week was the first class and we dove right in making 4 different types of flowers on the first class! Yesterday's class was really an introduction to fondant and covering the cake we brought in for class 2. Last week our instructor gave us a recipe to make which he highly recommends. He also indicated that when you make a cake that will be covered with fondant, it should be a little more dense an the light box cakes or cakes that are iced with buttercream.
So I made the recipe and when the cake came out of the oven, I was completely disappointed as it appeared that it had not risen. I checked my baking powder, CHECK, the check the oven temp, CHECK, and I had remember that our instructor had made a big deal about letting us know that all the ingredients should be room temperature. All my ingredients were room temp EXCEPT the milk (I forgot to put it out) so I figured that I would have to scrap these two cakes and make it again. I did, however, decide this was the perfect opportunity to taste it. OMG OMG OMG OMG it was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!! So I was energized to make the recipe again, feeling confident that it was because my milk was not at room temp and that this time the cakes would rise to the occasion!
Disappointed AGAIN!! DAMN! But at this point I was running out of time and butter! LOL So I went ahead and prepped the cake for class. I remember from taking the fondant & gum paste class that it really doesn't matter what the LOOKS LIKE because the fondant will hide any imperfections! So I forged ahead. All in all, the cake is very good. I MEAN VERY GOOD. Its like a lighter version of a pound cake. SOOOO GOOD. I frosted it with Chocolate flavored Pastry Pride that I get from Smart & Final. My instructor informed me that maybe I had left the cake in the pan too long after removing it from the oven (more than 10min) which is key, otherwise the cake will start to deflate and cave. Trust me, it didn't bother the taste AT ALL and with double layers under fondant, it looks darn good and no one would ever know what trouble I had if I wasn't 'spilling the beans' here!!! LOL
All-Purpose Buttery Yellow Cake2 3/4 cup cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup whole milk, room temp
- Adjust oven rack to middle and preheat to 350*F. Butter and flour two 8" or 9" round pans or one 9x13" pan, or butter and cover bottom with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in vanilla.
- Reduce the speed on mixer to low and beat in one third of the flour mixture, then add half of the milk. Repeat with half the remaining flour mixture then the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Make sure everything is well incorporated.
- Give the batter a final stir using a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top (batter will be thick). Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake(s) come out with a few crumbs attacked, 20 to 25 minutes for the round layers or 25 to 30 minutes for the sheet cake, rotating the pans half way through.
- Let the cake(s) cool in the pan(s) on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cake(s) to loosen, then flip out onto racks (if desired for decorating). Flip the cakes upright, discard parchment if used. Let cool completely before frosting.
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