Hudson's Smash Cake- Part 3

Aaaannnd it's done!

I have to say this was quite an adventure and I absolutely have newfound respect for cake decorators- this stuff isn't easy!

The cake didn't turn out precisely as I'd planned, but I still think it was a good first attempt at cake decorating. And as I've mentioned before, the purpose of this cake is for it to be smashed between Hudson's fingers, not admired for its form and beauty. So in light of that, I'm trying not to hold myself to too high a standard, however difficult that may be for someone who tends to have "unrelenting standards", or so I've been told!

The cake itself turned out nicely... the second time around. After a killer 16-hour workday, I decided to bake the cake last night.  I realized (too late) that normal common sense eludes me after a certain number of hours working my crazy job. So, of course, when I got home at 11pm, I thought... "let's bake that cake!"  Two words: bad.idea. I made the full recipe (see below) which was for two 9" round pans and poured the entire recipe into two 6" round pans.  The result?  The pans runneth over with batter, the oven was an unspeakable disaster, and I narrowly averted setting off the fire alarm during this middle of the night baking adventure.  I crawled into bed at 2am with a smoke-filled house and an oven that looked like a war zone, just thankful the house was still standing. This morning I surveyed the damage, cleaned the oven, and started over.  This time, I halved the original recipe and voila... it's amazing how things can work out when you consider the basic laws of chemistry and physics while baking.

The 3D "1" didn't happen, but I think that the letters turned out quite nicely.  I made a fluffy white frosting that doesn't contain any fat (and should, theoretically, be easier to clean up off the birthday boy than greasy buttercream).

So it's all done and I can't wait for Hudson to smoosh his cute little fingers into it!

Recipes for cake and frosting below:



Chocolate Cake


Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

• 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two six inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Base recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/one-bowl-chocolate-cake-iii/Detail.aspx with modifications

Fluffy White Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
• Directions

1. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside frosting for coloring for piping/decorating. Frost the cake and decorate as desired.

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/fluffy-white-frosting/Detail.aspx