I need to bake a perfect birthday cake...well 2

[javelinpr]

well i have a party at my house on March 8. we will be celebrate 5 birthdays in my family. Me included. so i want to bake a cake. i dont want to buy em. in thinking about doing 2 different cakes since there will be around 15 people here.

so i want each cake with a two piece of around inch or 2, tall with some cream on the middle and icing. both will have the same structure.

one will be a simple vanilla cake with vanilla icing nothing fancy just something normal and good. a classic birthday cake. i want it to be a moist cake. what i want to do is brush some liquid over it so that it absorbs the liquid and becomes moist. what i dont have is the recipe for a nice simple vanilla cake. the recipe for the filling on middle...umm i can add some slices of strawberries and make it even better. and garnish it with it. so i need the cake recipe and i need a recipe for the filling and the icing.

my second idea is for an almond cake. i want to do the same as the other and bathe it with some almond milk. it should be awesome. what kind of icing should i use on it? brandy or something like it???

i expect to practice these two bad boys in the next weeks


thanks a lot for helping this newbie.

 

[ChefJune]

Welcome to DC, javelinpr!

Are you an experienced cake baker, or are you attempting to achieve perfection on your first two birthday cakes?

In either case, the experienced cake bakers here at DC will be better able to make suggestions for "the perfect cake," if you post your recipe(s).

As a long-time baker, I'm going to suggest that if these cakes are to be presented on the same day that you make the same recipe for both and change out the frostings and fillings. It will be much easier and take less time. Plus you will have to do much less experimenting.

FWIW, you should not need to imbibe a cake with liquid for it to be moist.

 

[javelinpr]

how does this recipe sounds:

Ingredients 3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 egg whites


what i need is a good filling.

something like this maybe:
Confectioners Sugar Glaze

• 2 tablespoons hot water, or milk or light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, lemon, or other extracts, or 1 teaspoon lemon juice or rum
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Stir the liquid into the sugar, adding more, a few drops at a time. The icing is of the proper consistency when it coats the spoon.


with strawberries in the middle and on top as a garnish.



how about this one for the other cake:
INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 teaspoon almond extrac

this are the links where i found this.

wwwvanilla.com/showcase/docs/vanilla-cake.html

wwwmartinsburg.com/wv.recipes/frost.html

allrecipes.com/Recipe/Almond-Custard-Filling/Detail.aspx


I dont have anything to start with so i have to pick whatever i can from around here and build something good out of it.

i want a moist cake and i tend to make dry cake thats why i want to add some liquid after its done.

should i bake this the same day or can i bake it the day before?? how do i have to store it?

ill be practicing this cake tomorrow. i want to see how it comes out. Unless somebody has a better recipe for me

im not an experienced baker either but i can cook any recipe and im very creative in cooking but in baking i tend to be more conservative.

thanks!!

 

[ChefJune]

Sorry, Javelin, neither of those recipes look promising to me. Why don't you try this recipe? It always works. Glaze does not work for a filling. You need something more custardy, or a good jam/preserves makes a fine filling, too. For this cake, I love lemon curd for a filling.

White Cake

makes one 9-inch, 2-layer cake

1/4 pound (4 ounces / 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup pure cane granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted twice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 extra large egg whites, beaten with 1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Cream butter and one cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add lemon extract.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the butter/sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Add vanilla.
3. Whip the egg whites until foamy, then add the additional 1/4 cup sugar and whip until fluffy, but not dry. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then gently but thoroughly fold in the remaining whites.
4. Pour into the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then remove them and allow cooling to complete on cake racks.

 

[javelinpr]

tried that recipe. i liked it. thing is im looking to bake a vanilla cake.

got this recipe from a book, how does it sounds?

A Most Excellent White Cake
This delicious white cake bakes up high-and-mighty and is a staple for all kinds of
celebrations.
Tools: Two 9-inch round cake pans
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
41 ⁄2 cups sifted cake flour
3 ⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
7 egg whites
2 cups whole milk
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly
softened and cut into 1 ⁄2-inch pieces
21 ⁄2 cups granulated white sugar
11 ⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, and set
aside.
2 In a large bowl, sift the salt and baking powder into the cake flour, and stir the mixture
with a balloon whisk.
3 In a medium bowl, break up the egg whites with a fork, add the milk, and mix together
lightly.
4 In a large bowl, cream the butter. Add the sugar, and continue beating until light and
fluffy. Add the vanilla, and continue beating.
5 Alternately add the flour and egg white mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and
ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl twice during beating. Stop
beating when the last portion of flour is just blended into the mixture.
6 Pour the batter into the prepared pans, and bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester
inserted in the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached.
7 Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges,
and then invert the cakes onto racks to cool completely.