All-New Cake Mix Doctor - Anne Byrn [22]
Recipe Reminders
MADE FOR
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PREP NOTES
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DON’T FORGET
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SPECIAL TOUCHES
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Stand Tall
Just like your mom told you to stand up straight so you’d look your best, cakes benefit from standing tall as well. Place a cake on a stand instead of a plate and you’ll find even the simplest chocolate cake looks mighty impressive. I learned this trick when appearing on television and bringing an assortment of cakes with me to display. The ones that looked the best were the ones on stands. Place a birthday layer cake on a stand for a celebratory presentation or arrange an assortment of cakes on various stands for a dramatic statement on the dessert buffet. Make sure the stands are of different heights. This moves your eye from cake to cake on the buffet.
5. Transfer the cake pans to wire racks and let the cake layers cool for 15 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each cake layer and give the pans a good shake to loosen the cakes. Invert each layer onto a wire rack, then invert it again onto another wire rack so that the cakes are right side up. Let the layers cool for 15 minutes longer.
6. To assemble the cake, transfer one layer, right side up, to a serving plate. Spoon a heaping cup of the sour cream filling on that layer and, using a knife, spread it not quite to the edge of the cake. Arrange 1½ cups of sliced strawberries on top of the filling, making sure that you place the berries all the way to the edge. Place the second layer of cake, right side up, on top of the first, spread a heaping cup of filling over that layer, and arrange the remaining strawberries on it as you did with the first layer. Place the third layer of cake, right side up, on top of the second and spread the remaining 1 cup of filling over the top, leaving the side of the cake bare. Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill for up to 4 hours.
7. Just before serving, garnish the top of the cake with the ½ cup of sliced strawberries.
Keep It Fresh! Store this cake, in a cake saver or loosely covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for two days. Freeze only the cake layers, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to six months. Let the layers thaw overnight on the counter before making the filling and assembling the cake.
FRESH ORANGE BIRTHDAY CAKE
A FEW MONTHS AFTER MY FIRST BOOK was published, I went on a book tour. And being a true neophyte I really relied on the expertise of the media escorts in each city I visited. In Dallas I was fortunate to have Kathleen Livingston bake my cakes. I will always remember how she garnished my orange Bundt cake with slices of gorgeous red and orange Cara Cara oranges. I had never seen them before, and they looked like slices of a summer sunset. I got back to Dallas recently, and Kathleen and I talked orange cake again. She thought orange cake was the best birthday choice for kids because they like the flavor, few are allergic to it, and it looks great on a cake stand. I came home ready to create the perfect orange birthday cake—for kids of all ages. Here it is. Enjoy it whether you garnish it with fresh oranges, orange gum drops, or just birthday candles.
Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans
Flour, for dusting the pans
1 large orange
About 1 cup orange juice from a carton
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting