Cake Recipes Can anyone help me?

[velma 6]

I seem to be dabbling into all the wrong sorts this season for not only did I start gardening but I got myself into trouble in the cooking department . Now I cook regular food but have absolutely no experience with pastries or baking of any kind... And I've been entered in this cake cook off >_> so I wanted to know if anyone could give me a recipe for cakes.. You will have to literally teach me to do everything from baking to frosting and so on. The theme is animal cake. So I was thinking of doing something really simple like a cow or a pig since I would then be able to stick to regular frosting and keep it circular No cupcakes allowed which sucks since that was my original idea. And how difficult do you thin k is to make a soaked cake as compared to the regular baked one...I hope someone can help or else I am going to have to do dishes for my brother for 6 months... And he is a messy cook.

[mrdee 1]

How would you like to bake a swan, filled with whipped cream, and maybe little chunks of pineapple?Not a lot needed, not difficult to make, but they need a bit of practice.

[velma 6]

OOOH That sounds lovely... That sounds really really awesome.. Thank you so much Mrdee

[mrdee 1]

Here we go then , Velma, on top is a picture of what the swans should look like (I could just sink my teeth into that picture).

 

Ingredients:

 

50 grammes of real butter

10 cl of water

10 cl of milk

50 grammes of flour

2 eggs

25 cl of whipping cream

15 grammes of sugar

a tin of pineapple chunks (optional).

 

Method:

 

Boil the butter, milk and water in a pan until the butter has melted.

Important: Take the pan off the fire and add the flour (preferably through a sieve to avoid lumps).

Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough ball forms, the dough is right when it easily lifts off the pan.

Then, add the eggs (one egg at a time) and stir until the egg is absorbed, then repeat for the other egg, you should now have a beautiful shiny mass.

 

Preheat the oven on 180 degrees while you get the dough ready.

 

For the heads: use an icing bag, and on a baking tray covered with baking paper, form question marks of about 2 inches high, with a bit of a thicker bit for the head on the top.

Bake the necks in the oven for about 10 minutes.

 

Now, make the bodies, with a bigger head on the icing bag, still using a baking tray with baking paper on it, form pear-shaped balls of about 30 grammes of dough and put into the oven for 30-35 minutes.

 

It is important you do NOT open the oven during the baking process or your dough balls will collapse.

 

When the baking is finished, get the cakes out of the oven, they should have risen nicely and have "exploded" on the inside, so you have nice, crispy cakes, which are hollow on the inside.

Now, let the cakes cool off.

 

While the cakes are cooling, whip your cream and add the sugar, whip it until it just peaks, whip it too much and you end up with butter.

Put the cream in the fridge while you prepare the cakes.

 

Cut a "lid" of the top of the cakes, and cut it in two lengthways, these will be the wings.

If desired, put a few bits of dried off pineapple in, and put the cream into the cake with the icing bag, you can repat by putting some more pineapple on top and adding another layer of cream.

 

Stick the wings and necks into the cream and garnish by sprinkling some icing sugar over the swans.

 

Good luck, and, please, let me know how you get on.

[velma 6]

My brother is out for first blood >_> ... I was so excited about making the swans so I started practicing and actually got 2 of them perfect, but here is the thing, I cannot make the swans since it is not a "cake"... Funny how a dessert/pastry competition has turned into a bloody sponge cake competition.. But my heart is set on making the swans so I've decided to make a basic 2 layer cake with blue colored butter cream frosting... The blue cake would be a lake for the swans, no way is my bro ripping me apart from those pretty swans.. And yes, you are correct.. you could sink into one of them >_<I had a few doubts, one being the egg.. Can I use both white and yellow or am I to leave out one component? and secondly, what do you mean by real butter? like unsalted butter? Because real butter in India is white and I can't say it is really baking friendly since it has a completely different taste and texture when cooked. And lastly, flour = cake flour? or all purpose flour because Maida(a cake flour cousin) & Atta (bread flour) along with its many relatives exist here

[mrdee 1]

First blood indeed. Anyway, when I say "eggs", I mean the whole egg, otherwise I would say "egg yolk" or "egg white".Difficult to say if your ingredients are different in India, but with "real butter" I mean, "do not use margarine, but butter".As for the flour, I mean "plain flower", not even self-raising, the eggs make the mixture rise and "explode".But since there are that many varieties, i assume you should go for cake flour (as the name implies).So, let's see how you get on.

[velma 6]

@ Real butter I agree. As for the flour, like I said earlier I made a few practice batches with different variations (egg yolk/white and complete plus the two flours). I made it in cake flour so I guess I will try with regular flour later when I get eggs.I am pretty sure the swans will be awesome thanks to you.. Its the cake I am worried about since this will be the first one I've ever made Aaaah wish me luck, plenty of it.

[sheepdog 10]

Oh dear, I'm definatly outclassed here. Mrdee's swans are adorable! I was just going to sugest doing something lame, only cake I ever make is with a cake mix!Great job Mrdee!And I knew exactly what he meant by real butter. Nothing in the world beats real butter. Forget that fake margarine that just tastes like grease.

[velma 6]

I HATE MARGARINE... There was this one time our family had to eat a complete tub of that stuff because my bro's cooking class did not approve of the brand, toast that month was non existent in our house.

Oh dear, I'm definatly outclassed here. Mrdee's swans are adorable! I was just going to sugest doing something lame, only cake I ever make is with a cake mix!

Mrdee's swans were the clear winners of the game which is no wonder why my bro is making me BAKE A CAKE >_> And you at least had cake mix lol I am not allowed that either

[mrdee 1]

different variations (egg yolk/white and complete plus the two flours). I made it in cake flour so I guess I will try with regular flour later when I get eggs.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, Velma, How many more times????????

When I say "an egg", or "eggs", I mean The egg, the whole egg, and nothing but the egg (except for the shell, just in case), when I want you to use the yolk or the egg white, I will clearly say so.

I am pretty sure the swans will be awesome thanks to you.. Its the cake I am worried about since this will be the first one I've ever made Aaaah wish me luck, plenty of it.

 

Thanks.

Sponge cake mix is not so hard to make, just caster sugar, self raising flour, butter and egg (Yes, EGG).

I nevertheless wish you all the luck in the world.

 

Fire away if you have any more questions, and let me know how things are going.

Edited November 3, 2011 by mrdee (see edit history)

[mrdee 1]

I am now anxiously and curiously waiting for some feedback.Velma mentioned something about making the swans on Sunday, and I would really like to know if it happened, and if so, what the result was.Please let me know what happened.

[velma 6]

I am now anxiously and curiously waiting for some feedback.
Velma mentioned something about making the swans on Sunday, and I would really like to know if it happened, and if so, what the result was.
Please let me know what happened.

**sighs** Somehow my life prevents me from making it happen but I am trying real hard to accomplish the feat on the coming Sunday. So lets wish me luck because I seriously want to make the swans at least once

[mrdee 1]

I obviously wish you all the best of luck.I really cannot wait to see what your swans will turn out like.When made properly, they are ever so yummy.

[sheepdog 10]

Oh man, all this talk about cake and here it is that time of year when my body is telling me to eat everything in site to fatten me up for the upcoming winter, just what I needed guys! Bugging me so much I made peanut butter cookies the other day when it was raining and I couldn't do anything outside anyway. And now I realize the persimmons are about ready for harvest. I have this tremendous hankering for persimmon fruit cake! I use a zucchini bread recipe and substitute persimmon for the zuc, and ad lots of candied fruit and nuts to make it like a fruit cake. Oh yum, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.And please do let us know how those swans turn out.And Mrdee, any chance of you translating that recipe into ounces and pounds and cups for me?

[mrdee 1]

50 grammes=1.76 ounces.
Then again, now I think about it, there is a conversion table to British and American measurements from grammes and litres on nanna's blog, which can be found here.

Just click on the "Weights and measures" tab on the top.

Later today, there will be another scrumptious cake recipe be posted.

Watch this space.