Sunday, August 26, 2012

Let them eat cake birthday preview

The other day I really wanted a cake, but didn't have any boxed mixes on hand.  It occurred to me, back in the day, they didn't even use boxed mixes, so why don't I attempt making one from scratch?  It was another adventure!  This was the recipe I used, and it was very good!  And, it's a great practice for Brian's birthday cake next month!


Basic Yellow Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cup milk
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until completely combines. Slowly add flour alternately with milk. At end of addition batter should be smooth. Divide between 2 pans.
Bake Yellow Cake Recipe for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then invert onto a rack and cool completely before frosting.
For a 9 x 13 pan - Baked at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 38 minutes. 

For the frosting, I mixed a little butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together and frosted my cake with it.  It wasn't quite a glaze, but it also wasn't like the heavy chemical frostings, either.  It was pretty darn good, especially with some blue sprinkles on top!  

Sorry, there were no pictures!  I just plain forgot, can you believe it?!  How unusual!

But here's a picture to ponder: A Crackle Weave Companion


When I was ordering birthday presents for Brian, I came across another new weaving book.  This is a very new crackle weave book.  It was released this summer, on July 16th.  I find the other crackle book so confusing, the one called Weave Classic Crackle and More by Susan Wilson.  It's good, but leans on the and More side a bit much.  It's so advanced and hard to follow.  I always have more questions when I'm done looking at it than when I started, so I think this might be a better start and then work from the other book later when I understand crackle more.  I want to start with the basics.  I need to start with some basics!  I have no crackle basics!!  According to amazon.com, this book "[uses] the drafts published by Mary Atwater, Marguerite Davison, and Mary Snyder, Brusic weaves them in many new ways that illustrate the flexibility of the weave structure."  I'm excited to do some digging when it comes!  Is it me, or does everyone get themselves a little something also when it's their spouse's birthday?!