I then decided whatever it was that needed icing had to be enormous; at least 2 tiers.
This is huge for someone who doesn't even own a whisk to her name.
I decided to dedicate my first venture into cake-making to the Shukanator.
He goes absolutely gaga over Red Velvet cakes. If we happened to pass a shop displaying a Red Velvet cake, we would walk out with at least a slice to take home.
I dug out my mother's old mixer and rifled through hundreds of Red Velvet recipes until I found one I was convinced wouldn't let me down. I'm a sucker for big claims so its not a wonder I fell for this one:
The BEST Red Velvet Cake Recipe
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| Courtesy of Divas Can Cook |
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 Tablespoon of unsweetened, cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1-2 oz. red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar
- ½ cup of prepared plain hot coffee
I was extremely meticulous with my preparation and went out shopping twice.
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| Left: Wet ingredients; Right: Dry ingredients |
The only thing I was bothered about was that I had to use artificial food colouring. I dislike anything artificial but it was too late to go out for organic food colouring. I sent a silent apology to everyone I intended to feed this masterpiece to and dove into my task.
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| First tier |
Ah! Sublime! It was incredibly fluffy (veering dangerously so -I almost broke it in half when I flipped it out of the pan) and wafted the most delicious scents from the crotchety old microwave oven I was using.
I was so impatient to taste it that I ate the little bits that fell off the cake.
Immediately I was worried. It was very VERY sweet. I could feel my teeth decaying.
Nevermind! The show must go on!
I love the frosting of Hummingbird cupcakes so I searched for the recipe:
Hummingbird Bakery Cream Cheese Frosting
Courtesy of Ocado
- 600g Icing Sugar, sifted
- 100g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 250g Cream Cheese, cold
By now the cake was falling apart bit by bit. The Shukantor and I tried to patch fallen cake pieces with the icing. It was a very delicate process which failed miserably.
My confidence in the cake was at its all time low. It was horrible and looked nothing like I had hoped it would:
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| Expectation |
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| Reality |
We even used the palate knife I bought especially to ice the cake. At least it looked quite nice cut up.
By the time we could eat it I had spent 5 hours on the cake. I was exhausted, grumpy and hot all over. However, it did cheer me up that the cut slice looked quite pretty. So I took a generous forkful and brought it up to my mouth and - OW! THAT IS SHOCKINGLY SWEET!
I honestly had to stagger back to my seat and quickly wash it down with a glass of water.
To make things worse (yes it was possible!) the frosting was gritty. Not even mildly gritty but sandpaper gritty. This was clearly the cake of doom.
Looking back, I now know that 2 cups of sugar in a single cake is a lot. A whole cup of oil also wasn't entirely necessary. I understand that it's suppose to help make the cake moist and soft... but the cake was FAR too soft that it was fragile and fell apart.
Oh well, lets wrap it up with some Beginners Baker Notes.
Note to Beginner Bakers
1. Yes, 2 cups of sugar is A LOT. I would advise you to not use the recipe or to reduce the amount.
2. 1 cup of oil for cake is also a lot. I read online that you can use half the amount and it should still be fine.
3. If this is your first time baking, I do not recommend starting out with a two-layered, full frosted cake.
Questions to Advanced Bakers
1. How did 111 of you eat this?! I can't even take two bites.
2. Why did it become gritty even after I used icing sugar?
3. An edible Red Velvet recipe anyone?
VERDICT: COMPLETE FLOP
