Recipe: Lemon Cake

Every well decorated cake deserve a tasty cake underneath.  Here’s a great lemon cake recipe with lemon filling:

Lemon Cake Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2 eggs
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Stir shortening to soften.  Gradually add sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and lemon extract.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each one.  Sift together dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour.  Beat after each addition.  Bake in 2 paper-lined 8-inch round pans in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from over. Test for doneness with toothpicks.
Let cool then fill with lemon filling.

Lemon Filling Recipe
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Dash salt
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt; add egg yolk, water, and lemon juice; cook in double boiler till thick, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and add lemon peel and butter.  Cool.  Makes 1 1/2 cups.

 

Mid-Atlantic Cake Show

The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Cake Show and Wedding Cake Competition will be held April 19-20, 2008 at Shipley Arena on the grounds of the Carroll County Agriculture Center in Westminster Maryland. For more information, click here to visit the Mid-Atlantic Cake Show website.

 

Updated: Food Network to air the National Wedding Cake Competition

The Food Network Challenge will air the National Wedding Cake competition in February.  Over 80 top cake decorators from all over the world will compete in this wedding cake competition.  Judges will be Kerry Vincent (Sugar Arts Show Decorator), Millie Green (Amazing Cakes by Millie), Mary Gavenda (Wilton Test Kitchen & Master Decorator), and Felicia Pritchett (Associate Professor Pastry Arts Johnson & Wales).

AIR TIMES:   August 05, 2008 7:00 PM ET/PT May 03, 2008 9:00 PM ET/PT May 04, 2008 12:00 AM ET/PT May 10, 2008 6:00 PM ET/PT

 

Baking Tip: Releasing cake from pans

I’m back.  Its been a while.  Well, I made a castle cake last weekend.  One of the things I always have trouble with is getting the cake out of the larger pans without it tearing apart.  Sure, I’ve used the old butter (or shortening) and flour method.  I’ve used the commercially available “Pan-free’ products also.  But I find that the larger the cake, the more likely you are to have trouble getting it to release without tearing.  After watching an episode of PBS’s America Test Kitchen, I’ve learned to line the bottom and sides of the pans with parchment paper.  I very lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan with shortening first.  Just enough to make the paper stick.  When I say lightly, I mean lightly.  You don’t want to use so much that the shortening affects the batter.  I’m sure many have used this method for years but beginners don’t hear much about this.  Let me tell you, the cake comes out perfect.  And best of all, it reduces the amount of crumbs on the cake.  And when you’re doing your crumb coat, that means a lot. 

 

Frostings and Celebrity Comments

I was reading my posts today and I almost fell out of my chair.  Kerry Vincent posted a comment to this blog.  Thank you Kerry Vincent for your comments. 

For those of you new to cake decorating, Kerry Vincent is a celebrity in this field.  Not only does she create amazingly beautiful cakes, she has been a judge for the Food Network’s cake decorating series and she hosts the annual Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show.  I’m sure I have not done here accomplishments justice here but suffice it to say that I am a big fan.  If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend you go to the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show (OSSAS).  Here’s a link to the site for more information:  http://www.oklahomasugarartists.com/.

I went to the OSSAS the first year I started decorating.  You will be so inspired by the cakes you see there.  They hold a cake decorating competition for all ages and in many categories.  Even the youth entries are amazing.  The big event is the wedding cake competition.  I have yet to get up the nerve to enter the competition but I will one day.  In addition, there are many educational sessions by other great decorators showcasing new techniques and vendors on hand displaying new products.  Definitely put this event on your must attend list at some point in your career.

Well, lets talk about frostings.  My friend Roshini asked, “How do I store frosting in a tube?  Do I just recap it and store in the pantry or do I have to refrigerate it?”

Depends on how the frosting was made.  If it is merely confectioner’s sugar, shortening, and a bit of water (your standard decorator’s frosting), then you can put the cap on it and put it in the pantry.  Most of the tube based frostings in the grocery store can be stored without refrigeration.  If its, Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker or any other can based frosting, they need to be refrigerated after opening but I don’t recommend keeping them for more than 2 weeks after opening/refrigerating.
 
The rule of thumb is that if the frosting is made with any diary products (butter, milk, eggs, etc.) you MUST refrigerate.  1-2 weeks is as long as you would keep any frosting containing these items before throwing them out.

 

Hello Cake Decorators!

My jewelry designer friend Lynn has been after me for some time now to do a blog on cake decorating and I have finally succumbed.  I have been decorating cakes for about 3 years now.  Lynn’s daughter’s wedding was my first official wedding cake. That’s the lovely couple to the right.  They now have two beautiful daughters and a puppy. 

Needless to say, I was petrified doing my first wedding cake.  It would have been great if I would have had someplace to go to get tips my first time out.  I was afraid the cake would tilt, that I wouldn’t get it done before the wedding party arrived, and that the guest would think it tasted terrible.  Three years later I still have the same fears.  But now the fears are generated because I care about what I’m doing and not because I don’t know what I’m doing. 

Here’s my latest creation inspired by a cake in the book Romantic Weddings by Kerry Vincent.  I remember asking my instructors how to get a cake smooth, what cake clubs are available, where to get certain tools, and recommended books.  Surprisingly, they didn’t have answers for me, go figure. 

So, I went in search of knowledge and found my answers after lots of searches on the web.  Now, I’m going to try to impart my “infinite” wisdom to all who want to listen and even those who don’t.  I’ll try to give you tips, news on events, or direct you to books and websites that I’ve found helpful.  I’ll also ask those of you out there who’ve been at this longer than me for your tips and suggestions.  We can all become experts together.  So, let’s get started!

Tip #1: Join a cake club ASAP!  Run don’t walk!

The International Cake Exploration Societe (ICES) is the mother of all cake clubs.  Anybody who’s anybody attends and demonstrates at the ICES convention such as Nicholas Lodge, Kerry Vincent, and Earlene Moore among others.  Usually there are local cake clubs that are members of ICES.   This is how I finally found out about the cake club in my area.  I learned things in my first attendance of my local cake club meeting that I spent 2 years researching to find out.  Plus, you’ll meet people who are of various skill levels and all are there with the purpose of giving and receiving more knowledge about the art of cake decorating.  And yes, it is an art form.  Just watch the Food Network.