Ryan’s birthday was Sunday, and we celebrated all weekend. I wanted to cook him a nice dinner, and we decided to do that on Saturday, since it meant me being in the kitchen all day. Then we could relax on the actual day of his birthday, and play video games and watch the Oscars.
Saturday morning I started with the cake. I had never made a layer cake before. In fact, I’d only made sheet cakes that never left the pan. I’d also never made a cake from scratch before; I’d only used the boxed mixes.
I used this recipe for four egg yellow cake. It turned out pretty well, it had a nice flavor and was fairly moist. Both layers also came out of the round pans easily. I sprayed the pans with non stick cooking spray, and put a circle of wax paper on the bottom of the pan. (Trace the bottom of the pan onto the wax paper with a pencil, and then cut on the inside of your line.) I let the cakes cool for over 3 hours before removing them from the pans, but that was just because I was busy. Just make sure they’re completely cooled.
Four Egg Yellow Cake
INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup shortening*
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 3/4 cups milk
*I read in the comments that you can also use 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 butter. I used all shortening, but next time I’m going to try 50/50. I think it will make it much more (surprise) buttery, which would be an improvement.
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool.
For the frosting, I used a recipe that my mom always uses, the one on the inside of the Baker’s unsweetened chocolate baking squares box. It was a good recipe, the frosting has a great flavor, and is very easy to make. The best part is you have a while between making the frosting and actually applying it to the cake. A lot of other frosting recipes I’ve seen say that they harden quickly, and you have to use it right away.
Baker’s One Bowl Chocolate Frosting
INGREDIENTS
4 squares (4 ounces) unsweetened Baker’s chocolate (I actually used Ghiradelli – one bar is 4 ounces)
16 ounces powdered sugar
1/2 cup of softened butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup milk
DIRECTIONS
Put chocolate in microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until completely melted (put back in microwave if needed). Cool five minutes or until room temperature. Add powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Beat (or stir by hand) until well mixed. Gradually add milk, beating until well blended.
This recipe will make 3 cups of frosting, a good amount for frosting a full sheet cake or an 8 or 9 inch two layer cake, including the middle layer and sides.
