Navneet's Rainbow Birthday Cake

As you may know, I like to bake for the people in my group at work on their birthdays.  Navneet wanted something vanilla.  "Whatever inspires you," he told me.  It didn't take long to find inspiration.  I have adapted this recipe from Cupcake Addiction.

Ingredients:
3 Pillsbury Moist Supreme white cake box mixes   (1 1/2 boxes per batch)
12 egg whites   (6 per batch)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil   (3/4 cups per batch)
3 1/2 cups water   (1 7/8 cups per batch)
Food coloring
Triple batch of icing found here

Equipment:
Mixer
Spatula
3-8 inch cake pans (greased and floured)
Cake leveler, or a serrated knife if you cut level
5 inch diameter cookie cutter (I made one from flexible metal I bought at Lowes but you can cut a large can of Quaker Oats to make one or even use a 3D printer.)
2 1/2 inch diameter cookie cutter

To make this cake you will need to divide one of the cake mixes in half.  So pour one into a bowl and whisk it so that it is mixed well, then divide it best you can in half.  Use a small scale if you have one. The first set of 3 layers I made was red/orange/yellow, and the second set was blue/green/purple.

1) First mix up the batter according to the directions on the box, adjusted for 1 1/2 mixes.

Rough calculations for 1 1/2 cake mixes.

Pillsbury brand worked well.

 2) Pour the batter into 3 bowls.  Add food coloring and mix well.  Pour each color into a cake pan and bake for 18-20 minutes.

3)  Remove from cake pans after 10 minutes and allow to cool on racks until completely cool to the touch.

4) Level with a cake leveler or a knife if you have a steady hand.  I can't cut straight but I love my $3.50 cake leveler from Hobby Lobby.  Using your cutters, cut each of the 3 layers like this.

5) Ice the inner walls of the two donut shaped parts, then mix them up like this.  The icing will glue them together.  Wrap them up in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6) Stack layers putting a small layer of icing in between.  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator again.

7) Trim off a very small bit of the sides with a serrated knife.  This makes a huge difference in how easy it is to ice.  Crumb coat, final coat, and decorate refrigerating as you go.  A cake this big needs the support of being chilled. Remove it from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. 

Happy Birthday Navneet!

A blue and green version of the rainbow cake was requested by Vijay for his birthday.

    

Happy Birthday Vijay!

Yummy Butter Cream

I've adapted this recipe from what I found on YouTube at Cupcake Addiction.  It's fast, easy, and delicious!  It's the perfect icing for cakes, cupcakes, or piping flowers.  One batch doesn't make a lot so for this large cake a had to triple it.  Leftovers can be refrigerated for a few days.

Ingredients:
5 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 sticks butter (room temperature, not unsalted)
2 teaspoons vanilla
0-3 tablespoons milk (depending on desired consistency)
1/2 teaspoon White-White Icing Color by Wilton (can be purchased at craft stores)

Equipment:
Mixer
Spatula

1) Beat the butter in electric mixer on high for 5 minutes scraping sides as needed.  It will lose a lot of its color.

2) Turn the mixer down to a lower speed and pour in 3/4 of the powdered sugar a little at a time.

3) Mix in the vanilla and White-White icing color.  If you are not using it for piping you can add 3 tablespoons of milk now.

4) Slowly mix in the rest of the powdered sugar.

5) Adjust the consistency by adding milk to make it softer or powdered sugar to make it thicker.

6) Beat on high for 5 minutes scraping sides as needed.

  

Oat-rageous Cookies

If you like cookies with lots of stuff in them, these are the cookies for you!  There is barely enough dough to keep it all together.  Today they were for the birthday of a co-worker and friend, Apnesh.

Cream:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Beat in:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine and gradually add to the creamed mixture:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir in:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips or raisins (I do both)
3/4 cup dried cranbetties (I use Craisins)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup toffee bits

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 375 for 12 minutes, cool for a couple of minutes and move to wire rack.  They stick to the baking sheet so get them off before they're completely cool.  Next time I'm going to try using parchment.  Yield: 3 dozen small, or 2 dozen good sized.

Happy Birthday Apnesh!