Don’t Try This At Home

 image:  Tracey Thompson 2008

I had to share this story.  I often wonder where my head is when I hatch up some of my “Master Plans”.  I wonder if I live in an episode of the Lucy Show.

My oldest was graduating from pre-school this past weekend and I wanted to have a celebratory cake.  I was going to buy one, but we are trying to be careful with our money and I am fully capable of making a cake.  Then I thought, well I could even decorate it.  Nothing extravagant, just something cute and simple…..I thought….that was my first mistake.

I began searching on-line for ideas.  “I wonder if I could make a cake in the shape of a graduation cap?”  “I wonder if I could make it in the shape of a graduate, or a school bus or school books…yes, school books should be easy.”  I wondered a little too much. 

Then I came across a cake on-line.  It was just a rectangle shaped cake that was bright yellow.  They decorated a few shapes and ABC’s with icing.  They wrote something simple….I could to this…I thought…..oh, my….again, a dangerous place for my mind to go.

In the end, what you see pictured above was just how that simple bright yellow cake with a few icing decorations came out.  Fortunately, the chocolate cake and butter cream icing tasted fantastic.  But, in the end, my lesson has been learned.  Stop watching the Food Network Cake Decorating challenges and don’t try this at home.

I made a chocolate cake and butter cream frosting.  The recipes were easy and very good.  They both come from the Pillsbury Complete Book of Cooking.  One note, when you make the cake it is very dense.  The mixture will almost look more like a brownie mixture than a cake when you go to put it in the oven.

Basic Chocolate Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 cup milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.  In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  In large bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla and eggs.  Stir in chocolate.  Alternately add dry ingredients and milk,  beating well after each addition.  Spread batter evenly in greased and loured pans.

Bake for 27-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans.  Cool completely.

Bake can be baked in 13×9 inch pan.  Same directions, just bake for 33-40 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting

2/3 cup butter, softened   **Note:  Do NOT use margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-4 tbsp half and half or milk

In large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well.  Beat in vanilla and half-and half, adding enough half-and-half for desired spreading consistency.