Christmas Layer Cake

For dessert after tonight's Christmas dinner, I wanted to serve something special. So I decided that a tall layer cake would be festive.


I used two boxes of Pillsbury Devil's Food cake (which I love, because it has no milk in it) and made three layers. I later learned that I could have used one box of mix, and cut two rounds in half to make a four layer cake instead. Perhaps I will try that next time.

I let them cool overnight. Then I cut the rounded tops off of two sections (opting to leave the top section round for a homemade, abundant look) and popped them in the freezer, which I had heard somewhere makes them easier to frost.

I made up a TON of frosting. I used 5 Tablespoons of margarine, a big bag of powdered sugar, which I sifted, and an undetermined amount of orange juice. (I added the OJ in a tiny bit at a time so I wouldn't end up with runny icing as I have so many times in the past.)

I placed a small dollop of frosting on my cake stand to hold the first layer in place, and put it on. Then I lined the outside with parchment paper to keep the crumbs and frosting off of my display plate.

I spread the frosting on the top of the first layer (using a butter knife since I don't have a proper spatula for such things).

I stuck the next layer on. So far so good.

I did the same thing, frosting the top, and leaving some space around the edge.

I put the top piece (notice how it is still rounded from the oven) on.


I put a big glob of frosting on and spread it around the top.

Looks good enough to eat already, eh?

Next came the part I was most worried about: frosting the sides. I got the outsides coated, but you can see there are tons of crumbs in it. But I kept telling myself that is how it is supposed to be, and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes to set up.

The second coat of frosting did go on a lot easier. See how it is covering up all those crumbs? Yay!


I think, with practice, I could make it all smooth the way they do in a bakery.

But this time, I just made it all "purposefully wavy" and called it good.

I removed the messy parchment paper, and viola! My cake is ready for tonight:

Hope that your Christmas is a merry one, and that you are filled with the joy that Christ brings!

Chocolate Cake

About a week ago, for a friend of mine's birthday, I made my first from-scratch cake. It actually happened quite by accident. I was walking through the kitchen, a few things fell into a bowl, and out of the oven popped a cake! (Okay - it wasn't that much of an accident. What really happened was...)

Bryan went into the kitchen to bake a cake. There was no box of cake mix to be found.

"Look again!" I insisted, standing on tip-toe.

"I can actually see above this shelf." said my 6"1' husband, "We don't have any."

"Oh."

The wheels of my brain are turning furiously. With his right foot in a cast, Bryan can't drive right now, and I loathe going to the store. I was also remembering that during my last 27 fling boogie when I dove into my recipe stash, I had kept a recipe for chocolate cake because I really wanted to try it. Well, what was I waiting for? Here was my chance to avoid the store and make a cake I could be proud of!

"I can make one."

"Oh, you mean from scratch?" he looked surprised.

"Yeah. If I can bake bread, I'm sure I can make a cake." Now he looked cautious. That settled it, stubbornness set in as if he had just said "No, I don't think you can make a cake" and I was now determined to do this.

(My husband was really trying to be a nice guy - I'd like to point out. He knows that I take it pretty hard when things go wrong in the kitchen - and we had four guests coming over for dinner that night. The same six of us who endured the bean fiasco, incidentally.)

So I headed for the cupboard and fished out the recipe a co-worker had given me nearly a year ago. (By the way, thanks Heather!)

Heather's Chocolate Cake

• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup Dutch processed cocoa, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups HOT water

Let's get started!

In a mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugar.

Add the eggs,

one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Beat on high speed until light and fluffy.  Stir in vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients;

add alternatively to the creamed mixture with the hot water.

I must add, at this point, that your batter is likely to look much runnier than this, because I got so caught up in taking blog pictures that I accidentally left out almost half of the water the recipe called for.  Oops!

Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans (or one 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan)

(I only have two round pans, so I also made a batch of mini cup cakes.  They were super cute.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes

before removing from pan to cool completely.

After cakes are completely cool,

frost with desired frosting.  She suggests caramel frosting.  

Stay tuned to see what frosting I made instead... as well as the finished cake!