All-New Cake Mix Doctor - Anne Byrn [24]
Keep It Fresh! Store this cake, in a cake saver or loosely covered with waxed paper, in the refrigerator for up to one week. Freeze the cake, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to six months. Let the cake thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Light the Candles and Make a Wish!
Once a birthday cake is garnished, the candles are ready to be lit. Start with the inside candles and work toward the outside of the cake to prevent burning your hand. Usually it’s one candle per year for most children’s birthdays and one candle per decade for everyone twenty and up. Remind the birthday honoree to make a secret wish before blowing out the candles. Some cooks whisper a birthday wish to a child as the cake is carried to the table.
Birthday layer cakes slice best with a long, thin knife. Dip the knife into hot water, dry it, then cut the cake. Wipe off the knife between slices for the neatest job. Use a serrated knife on angel food cakes or any cake with a more delicate crumb texture. And don’t forget to sing “Happy Birthday”!
Dress Up a Birthday Cake—It’s Easy
You don’t have to be a professional to turn out a dazzling birthday cake. Some of my favorite cakes have been those that were simply decorated with candy, flowers, fruit, or just candles. Ingredients in your pantry, your refrigerator, or your garden are the best choices and the most accessible, and they’re even better suited if they match the flavors of the cake and frosting. For example:
• Stock up on colorful sugars and sprinkles to decorate cakes and cupcakes. You can spell out words and names on cakes with larger sprinkles. These adhere best to a freshly frosted cake.
• Top chocolate cakes with crushed peppermints.
• Sprinkle miniature marshmallows and graham cracker pieces atop a chocolate cake for the s’more lover.
• Add jelly beans or colorful gum drops to the top and side of a strawberry or lemon cake.
• Crown most any cake with fresh fruit, such as strawberries, cherries, or raspberries.
• Top white or angel food cakes with shredded coconut. Tint the coconut a different color by shaking it in a plastic resealable bag with a few drops of food coloring.
• Provided they haven’t been sprayed with pesticides, garnish the top and around the base of cakes with violets or nasturtiums from your garden.
• Dust cocoa powder, cinnamon, or confectioners’ sugar over a cake using a fine mesh sieve. Get creative and sprinkle on patterns and designs using stencils.
• Even the birthday candles themselves can be decorative. Look for long, slender, colorful candles at gift or cookware shops. They look glamorous on any cake and may be reused.
• Chocolate curls are the ultimate edible garnish. To make them, run a sharp vegetable peeler in one long stroke over the top of a bar or square of chocolate. The longer the stroke and the warmer the chocolate, the more elegant the curl. But even the curls that break into shavings look pretty piled in the center or scattered across the top of a chocolate cake.
WILLIAMSBURG ORANGE CAKE
I HAD HEARD ABOUT THIS CAKE FOR YEARS and had tried a scratch version of it. I loved how the fresh orange mixed so well with the golden raisins and chopped pecans, flavors typical of Williamsburg and Colonial America. I knew I could turn this medley into a quicker cake without sacrificing flavor. My recipe begins with a vanilla or yellow cake mix. Add half of a package of vanilla pudding just to help suspend the nuts and raisins. Use buttermilk for flavor and moisture and top this with a no-fuss orange buttercream frosting. This is a festive cake,