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I just got an idea about an hour ago and it's been driving me crazy with the possibilities and I'm asking for advice on how to make this work:- My idea is to make what is essentially a Banana Bread Lamington. 1- I want to bake a cube (or a series of cubes) of fresh home cooked banana bread. (with some gooey bits of banana still inside.) 2- I want to layer it with a small layer of chocolate cake. (or whatever the hell the chocolate crust of a lamington is made of) 3- I want to coconut the poo poo out of the outside. I have never made a lamington, I have no clue how to bake one. but I have eaten one before and I think exchanging the sponge cake filling with a banana cake would be amazing, but I'd like some ideas on how to make a decent lamington.
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| # ? Apr 1, 2013 18:02 |
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| # ? May 22, 2013 20:28 |
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Al-Saqr posted:I have never made a lamington, I have no clue how to bake one. but I have eaten one before and I think exchanging the sponge cake filling with a banana cake would be amazing, but I'd like some ideas on how to make a decent lamington. For anything Lamington, I would trust this blog: http://deliciousdeliciousdelicious.blogspot.ca/ - he hosts a Lamington contest every year. The results are amazing. I'm sure he has a banana lamington somewhere in there!
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| # ? Apr 1, 2013 20:29 |
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Undead Waterfowl posted:The Cake of a Million Tears I...I just realized all the pi chocolates are backwards. The things you notice at 4 am, nearly a month after the work is over. Not that I did any of the work (unless you count designing the top in Illustrator as "work"). We do have a new rule after this, though - we require at least a couple weeks' notice, because gently caress still being up at half-dead-o'clock trying to figure out how to mold/cut the pre-rolled fondant that wasn't pre-rolled without turning everything into amorphous mess-blobs (any tips on that, by the by?) At least her husband's cake wasn't as much of a nightmare, relatively speaking.
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| # ? Apr 2, 2013 08:09 |
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Kugyou no Tenshi posted:We do have a new rule after this, though - we require at least a couple weeks' notice, because gently caress still being up at half-dead-o'clock trying to figure out how to mold/cut the pre-rolled fondant that wasn't pre-rolled without turning everything into amorphous mess-blobs (any tips on that, by the by?) I have a standing rule for short notice cake requests. Anyone who asks me to do a cake with less than 10 days notice gets extremely limited creative control. They can give me a theme, but I'm not going to jump through hoops, and I'm going to do whatever takes the least amount of time (I'm a full-time student and don't have a whole lot of spare time, so I do bits and pieces in advance whenever possible). I've also given the distinct impression that anyone who asks for a cake for a girlfriend/boyfriend on stupidly short notice is getting a proposal cake.
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| # ? Apr 4, 2013 00:38 |
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Okay goons, I need help. I suck at cakes other than mixing the box poo poo, which will work fine. But I need some easy ideas. Work has set up a potluck in two weeks or so with the theme of Penguin. I don't know why. I don't usually participate in these things, but be damned if someone is bringing in a store-bought loving cake to win whatever parking space they auction off for this poo poo. So, any cute and easy ideas on how to decorate or make a penguin cake? I was thinking of just layering two white cakes, covering with white frosting, and cutting out part of the center to pour blue Jello in (if the Jello would in fact not make the cake all soggy). As for penguins themselves, I suck at fondant, so maybe just get some small plastic or make some clay ones to put on the cake?
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| # ? Apr 4, 2013 02:06 |
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Cowslips Warren posted:Okay goons, I need help. How about a classic cut-up cake from the Baker's Coconut cookbook? Perry the Penguin Edit: Here's the rest of the book, if anyone's interested. It was given away in the '50s, and my grandmother used to make them sometimes. Carbon Thief fucked around with this message at Apr 4, 2013 around 02:21 |
| # ? Apr 4, 2013 02:19 |
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clarabelle posted:I have a standing rule for short notice cake requests. Anyone who asks me to do a cake with less than 10 days notice gets extremely limited creative control. Thankfully, the problem isn't really with the people asking for the cake. It's mostly the fault of the guy going apeshit on ideas in Illustrator and making UW draw up customized Star Wars logos or penguins or lettering in chocolate and boats in fondant. So, in other words, me getting overly ambitious and her being all too willing to go the extra mile to be awesome for our friends.
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| # ? Apr 4, 2013 02:20 |
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Carbon Thief posted:How about a classic cut-up cake from the Baker's Coconut cookbook? Perry the Penguin Heh, you beat me - I went over to Photoshop to draw up this  guy and came back to see your post. I love retro cookbooks. It's so neat to see how presentation style has changed over the years.
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| # ? Apr 4, 2013 02:57 |
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Cowslips Warren posted:I suck at cakes other than mixing the box poo poo, which will work fine. But I need some easy ideas. Work has set up a potluck in two weeks or so with the theme of Penguin. I don't know why. I don't usually participate in these things, but be damned if someone is bringing in a store-bought loving cake to win whatever parking space they auction off for this poo poo. Make some vanilla cupcakes (my fav recipe is here), top it with some seven minute frosting (which comes out nice and marshmallowy), coat in coconut and top it with one of these guys:  Instant penguin cupcakes.
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| # ? Apr 4, 2013 04:08 |
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PezMaster posted:Make some vanilla cupcakes (my fav recipe is here), top it with some seven minute frosting (which comes out nice and marshmallowy), coat in coconut and top it with one of these guys: We made one of those cakes that looks like a huge cupcake for my mother's birthday, and did pretty much exactly the same thing (bigger, flatter penguin, though). Greatly-chemically-altered minds think alike?
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| # ? Apr 4, 2013 20:34 |
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:O What other foods can I pottery wheel? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryHp3kvhoXw
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| # ? Apr 5, 2013 21:40 |
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 Apple pie cupcakes. I made these for watching the hobbit, as hobbits like cake and pie so I made them together. Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, apple pie filling, and a puff pastry top with cinnamon sugar.  Almond cake with peaches- I was pretending it is summer already.
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| # ? Apr 7, 2013 13:35 |
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Plus_Infinity posted:
/\/\ Recipe please? I have a soft spot for nerdy baked goods  Speaking of nerdy baked goods:  They were pretty labour-intensive (the directions and recipe are here if you're interested) but so worth it. We could have actually played a game on them, but people wanted to eat them instead. Weird, I know.
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| # ? Apr 9, 2013 05:23 |
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PezMaster posted:/\/\ Recipe please? I have a soft spot for nerdy baked goods Ahhhhhh those are amazing!!! There isn't really a recipe for the cupcakes. I used a basic vegan vanilla cupcake and frosting recipe, absolutely nothing special there. Then I peeled and chopped up a couple apples into little tiny squares, cooked on the stove with some brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg until soft, and sifted in some cornstarch to thicken. Then I got some pre-made frozen puff pastry things that happened to be pre cut to exactly cupcake size (you could cut out circles in regular puff pastry too) and baked according to direction. Then I scooped out the middle of the cupcake with a spoon, added apple filling, then added icing, then put the pastry on top. Super duper easy! I usually don't cheat with pre made stuff like that, but puff pastry is beyond my skills!
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| # ? Apr 9, 2013 11:31 |
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Tenchrono posted:Is there a good "yellow" cake recipe that anyone reccomends? I've only ever had cake from out of a box or pre-made and thought it would be cool to try making my own. What about Frosting also? Thanks. Smitten Kitchen's Best Birthday Cake is what boxed yellow cakes aspire to be. It is SERIOUSLY good stuff. As for frosting, you have to have chocolate frosting with yellow cake. She gives two examples with her recipe, both are more fudgey dark frostings but you can find a whipped chocolate buttercream easily enough on the internet if you would prefer something lighter.
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| # ? Apr 9, 2013 12:59 |
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To follow up the "hey make a basic cake" thing, I am not, generally, a baker, but I got an itch to see if I could make a decent cake a little ways back and used the following: http://www.marthastewart.com/315436...le-vanilla-cake Followed it to the T, and made the frosting from the leftover egg-whites as suggested (though added orange extract to the frosting rather than vanilla). It's, mmm, a bit 'rustic' I guess in that it doesn't use cake flour and such, but I'll be honest and say I'd make it again, and probably top it with some kind of jam/fruit glaze. That said, it's easy as poo poo and definitely better than a box mix.
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| # ? Apr 9, 2013 15:45 |
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PezMaster posted:/\/\ Recipe please? I have a soft spot for nerdy baked goods Any of you cake wizards have a favorite Italian cream cake recipe? I think I am gonna make that one for a birthday coming up. I trust you guys more than the internet at large for cake recipes. (I hope it is ok to post this here instead of the general questions thread, considering this one is about cake specifically)
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| # ? Apr 11, 2013 17:35 |
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PezMaster posted:
Yeeees! I love Catan theme anything.
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| # ? Apr 12, 2013 05:00 |
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I volunteered to do a Ghostbusters-themed baked goods prize pack for a local charity - we've got Stay Puft marshmallows, lemon-lime flavoured "ectoplasm jellies", chocolate ghouls filled with chocolate/caramel, homemade Crunch bars, and homemade cheeze-its. The centre-piece was going to be a giant twinkie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzaQjS1JstY), but I was meh about the recipe I've found: http://joythebaker.com/2008/06/homemade-twinkies/ - the cake is okay, the filling is not my favourite (maybe because it's got shortening in it). Together it's . . . well, not awesome. Just cake. Which is what I don't want. Is there any suggestions/recipes on how I can make this giant twinkie awesome and not just okay?
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| # ? Apr 19, 2013 04:40 |
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PezMaster posted:I volunteered to do a Ghostbusters-themed baked goods prize pack for a local charity - we've got Stay Puft marshmallows, lemon-lime flavoured "ectoplasm jellies", chocolate ghouls filled with chocolate/caramel, homemade Crunch bars, and homemade cheeze-its. The centre-piece was going to be a giant twinkie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzaQjS1JstY), but I was meh about the recipe I've found: http://joythebaker.com/2008/06/homemade-twinkies/ - the cake is okay, the filling is not my favourite (maybe because it's got shortening in it). Together it's . . . well, not awesome. Just cake. Which is what I don't want. Maybe use a pastry cream with whipped cream folded in, or stabilized whipped cream icing, maybe even a French buttercream for the fiilling? Edit to not double post :  Chocolate sponge cake with chocolate mousse and fresh strawberry filling, iced in dark chocolate french buttercream.  Pink champagne cake with champagne whipped cream icing. The icing jobs are crap, but I worked 8 at the bakery last night, then twelve more cooking at home for the party tonight before assembling and icing these. I don't have crumb shots, as I passed the hell out once everything was set. Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at Apr 21, 2013 around 07:29 |
| # ? Apr 20, 2013 17:55 |
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That pink champagne cake looks absolutely delicious. Is there a recipe that you wouldn't mind sharing?
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| # ? Apr 22, 2013 03:20 |
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http://www.livanosrestaurantgroup.c...agne%20Cake.pdf I used the Oceana's recipe, although instead of the buttercream they suggest I whipped up some gelatin-stabilized whipped cream frosting with a splash of champagne. It came out a touch drier than the ones I've had previously, but was tasty.
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| # ? Apr 22, 2013 14:04 |
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I made these to give away as a prize at our local nerd pub trivia night. Star Wars was, of course, the theme - Blue Milk and Cookies Cupcakes.  The cake is a funfetti/cookies and cream hybrid. The frosting is my favourite swiss meringue. The recipe is here if anyone else need to whip up something quick for May the Fourth (or for Revenge of the Fifth). It's a pretty sweet cake - I think I'm still going to fool around with it. The first batch I made, I think I put way too much sugar in because it got this not so nice crispy outside to it. That's what happens when I try to watch hockey and bake at the same time, though.
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| # ? May 5, 2013 01:17 |
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PezMaster posted:I made these to give away as a prize at our local nerd pub trivia night. Star Wars was, of course, the theme - Blue Milk and Cookies Cupcakes. Looks fantastic and I love the reference. Good job!
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| # ? May 5, 2013 05:43 |
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My doctor grounded me from my usual outdoor activities, so all I have left to amuse myself until my PT is done is cooking and baking. So I made a sacher torte. Any tips for frosting without dislodging a bunch of crumbs?
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| # ? May 5, 2013 20:55 |
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Save me jeebus posted:My doctor grounded me from my usual outdoor activities, so all I have left to amuse myself until my PT is done is cooking and baking. So I made a sacher torte. Thin out some frosting with water so it's the consistency of a thick glaze, then spread this over your cake and let it sit for about 30 minutes before frosting it for real. This is called a crumb coating.  Or if you don't have time from that, I'll usually frost things from the top in a circular fashion by putting a big blob of frosting in the middle of the cake and dragging the spatula down and out from the centre. Never drag your spatula upwards or backwards, and don't let the frosting thin out enough under your spatula that it's anywhere near the cake itself. Hope this helps! edit: Wilton blog with instructions! Clavietika fucked around with this message at May 6, 2013 around 20:49 |
| # ? May 6, 2013 20:46 |
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You thin a crumb coat with water.  I can't tell you how many times I have hosed up icing a cake because my crumb coat attempts suck. This will revolutionize my cakes! This weekend I learned that covering a cake in M&Ms is a totally acceptable cover-up for a lack of icing skills. It looks super-colorful and people love it.
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| # ? May 6, 2013 21:19 |
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Oh man, slivered nuts or toasted coconut shavings really polish the turd that is my hasty icing practices.
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| # ? May 7, 2013 03:09 |
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You could probably gently warm the frosting for the crumb coat to make it a little softer, and then refrigerate the whole thing to make the frosting firm. The refrigeration helps in my experience to hold onto the crumbs in the crumb coat and not get them mixed in to your final frosting layer.
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| # ? May 7, 2013 13:43 |
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Thanks for the great advice, everyone! Now, to decide on my next weekend project.
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| # ? May 7, 2013 15:12 |
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I am kicking myself for only just now having discovered this thread. Some amazing cakes, my inspiration and recipe folder is now full of rad cake recipes and decorating ideas. Here's a coloured swirl cake I made for a very lucky 4 year old. The icing is a bit dodgy but it's nothing you can't hide with candy. My first time making a tiered cake and it turned out not-terrible, I do need a 1" smaller tin for the mid tier tho. I will be investing in a leveler and an electric beater finally though - my arms are sore from whipping buttercream. I used the birthday cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen, I love the flavour from the buttermilk.  
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| # ? May 11, 2013 19:52 |
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Did you take any sliced cake shots? I'm in love with that candy on top  I think a while back we were talking about the difference between an old fashioned red velvet and the more contemporary stuff? I kinda made a bastardization of the two of them last weekend. Actually the best part of this cupcake was the icing - I used the old fashioned that I usually top my velvet with, but added cocoa powder. The result was a Wendy's Frostie in icing form. So good.  We topped them with graham cracker/oreo cookie crumbs and zombie parts and called them "The Walking Dead". I'm sure they could be more elegant if necessary, though.
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| # ? May 12, 2013 00:13 |
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 The only pic I could get of rainbow cake before it was all demolished.I don't think I sifted the leavening consistently cause bubbles  It was otherwise really good, will ditch at least 1/3 of the sugar in the recipe next time though. It was so, so sweet.
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| # ? May 12, 2013 00:53 |
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I usually drop my pans on the counter a few times with the batter in before they go in the oven. It pushes the bubbles out and evens out the batter distribution. No idea if I SHOULDN'T do this but I've seen it on food network lots and my cakes have never flattened or anything from it.
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| # ? May 12, 2013 04:01 |
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:You could probably gently warm the frosting for the crumb coat to make it a little softer, and then refrigerate the whole thing to make the frosting firm. The refrigeration helps in my experience to hold onto the crumbs in the crumb coat and not get them mixed in to your final frosting layer. If you're using real buttercream, just letting it get closer to room temp after whipping should be enough to thin it quite a bit. That said, I usually level my cakes then flip them and use the 'bottom' as the top because it's already square and level, and doesn't have much in the way of crumbs that you can't dust off real fast with a dry pastry brush. 
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| # ? May 12, 2013 14:11 |
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Inspired by PezMaster - Catan-cakes.       I actually went with a devil's food chocolate cupcake since the crowd I was baking for doesn't care for vanilla/lemon combos, and I used a solid vanilla buttercream for the frosting. I wrote the markers on white chocolate melts with a toothpick and a bit of red and black food colouring. A friend who is trying to open a gaming store in our neck of the woods was like, 'I want to hire you to make these on our opening day'. I doubt he will, but the sentiment sure was a nice ego boost.
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| # ? May 20, 2013 01:04 |
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clarabelle posted:So how do people deal with pricing when doing cakes for friends? Those people really don't understand or appreciate the talent and work you put into your cakes.
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| # ? May 20, 2013 20:49 |
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| # ? May 22, 2013 20:28 |
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Everyone who knows how to do something useful runs into that issue. With computer it's something like 'Hey could you come over and look at my computer, I don't know what's wrong or how long it'll take to fix, but I'll give you $20?'
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| # ? May 21, 2013 09:09 |
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