How To Level And Fill A Cake

Not the best picture, but you know, it's a cake. So it's full of sugar, and it can look ugly if it wants to.

 In theory I know lots about baking.  I mean I went to school for it, I grew up watching every cooking show with my mom, and pouring over her books for hours.  I even read about it all now on blogs, and books and really anything I can get my hands on.

  But as with everything else I know all about, I never do it right.  Like this cake I am going to show you all.  You are not going to see it finished, because it was so bad, I cried for hours about it.  I hate making cakes, and I should know better than to ever make one for anyone other than my family.  But as I did, I might as well make an educational post about it.  No pictures of me crying though, those are just for me.  

  So in this post, I am going to show you the steps you need to know to level and fill a cake.  Then I will tell you how to frost it, sort of, no pictures because again, it's hard to take pictures when you are crying.

 Sigh.

  So to start you need to make a cake. 

  I know, mind blowing right?  Seriously though, make a cake, in two pans.  Or if you have a really deep pan you can use one.  Either way.  Try to find a nice firm cake.  A box cake mix is very airy so I find they are super hard to handle and stack.  So home made works best.  I recommend the one I used from Sugarlicious, in this post I share both the chocolate and vanilla.

Here are my two cakes, and my table covered in cake making stuff. I need a house just for that stuff, think Hubby would buy me one?

  Once your cakes are baked, you let them fully cool and get your icing ready.  If you are in a rush you can pop the cake pans in the fridge to speed things up.

So this is how you level it, and imagine my hand resting on top there, but I was taking a picture.  

See, nice and level.

  Firstly will need to level your cakes.  Start by putting your cake on a level surface, you want to take a serrated knife and place your hand on the top of the cake.  Slowly use the knife to saw around the cake to remove the top domed part.  Move slowly and take your time.  Do this for both cake halves.  If you baked a cake in a deep pan or you want more layers just split the cake the same way by slowly sawing the cake all the way around.  Most cakes are not stable enough for you to pick up, so slide a cake board under the slices when you are moving it.

  Once you have done this, you can start filling it.  I use cake boards because they are easy to move.  If you are doing this for home, feel free to do this on a plate or even on a cake stand. I also don't use a turn table, I think it is just my height, but I prefer to use a lazy Susan, which kills me, because I am the laziest Sue you will know.  So it works for me.

  So to start, put a blob of icing on your cake board, this will give your cake something to hold onto, and not allow it to slip around on you.  Then place your first cake layer, bottom side down.  The bottom side is the side that was in the bottom of the pan, it will be the flattest part.

Yep, that is a picture of an icing blob on a cake board.  I know, this is why you keep coming back.

 Then you fill your cake.  Depending on what filling you are going to use, you may or may not need to pipe an icing dam.  An icing dam is basically a thick ring of icing you pipe to hold the filling in.  I use this when I am using a loose filling or fruit or whatever.  For this cake I didn't need this.

  When you fill the cake, try to make the filling nice and level.  Then take the next layer of cake and slide it onto the bottom layer, making sure that the cut off leveled side is on the bottom.  That way the most even side is facing up.

See nice and level, sort of.

  Then you would be all ready to decorate.  If you were making a cake with more layers just do the same thing and repeat. Not too bad.  If you do not level your cake, they can slide off, or even break.  So take the few minutes you need and level it.  And keep the scraps they are perfect for cake balls.  

  So that is as much as I am going to show you as the next part of this cake was tear filled and I don't want to relive it.  Just so you know, I will not be making another cake any time soon.

  But if you are going to ice it and not be in tears, start by doing a crumb coat.  This is a thin layer of icing, which catches all the crumbs and you let it set up.  Once that is set, you go back and do a thicker layer of icing.  A nice trick to get a smooth finish is to ice your cake, then let it chill for a little bit.  Then go back over it with a spatula that you dip in hot water.  Just dip the spatula, wipe it off on a towel then smooth the icing.  Works great.  Usually.  Anyway, just be aware, no matter how bad it looks, it will still taste good, promise!

All ready to decorate, but you know, it went down hill from here. So just pretend it turned out. Because we all know it so didn't.

I am linking up HERE.

Cake Pops 101 and Star Wars Pops

May the Baking Force be with you!

  Hey all this is a post I did for a lovely blogger at Whisked together and thought I would post the full tutorial here since it was my first time working with edible images on cake balls.  They turned out okay, not thrilled, but you know they were cute.

 So here is my cake ball 101 and Star Wars cake balls.

I had Hubby make my cake because I was working.

So I always start the same way, with a cake and a plan.  I use a box mix and canned frosting usually.  My reasoning is that it is easiest and most cost effective.  And I figure I am crumbling it all up so you know, why not.  But you feel free to use whatever kind of cake and frosting you like.  For this I am using a chocolate cake and frosting.

I also usually do my cake balls over a few days. I do this because I am usually making a large amount and I never have a day just for baking.  I work too much don't you know; well at least that is what I tell hubby.

My baking goes like this.

Day 1- bake your cake

Day 2-mix and shape your cake balls, and leave in the fridge

Day 3-decorate your cake balls

Makes it so easy for me to do a little each day, but you will figure out what works for you.

Here is the mix, see how it is like a dough now, that is because I was careful not to add too much icing.

So to start bake your cake and let it cool completely, if you are in a rush just pop the pan in the fridge or freezer.  Once cooled you crumble it up.  Bakerella does it by hand from what I can tell, but I am lazy.  So I crumble it up into my kitchen aid then with the flat paddle just finish crumbling it up.  Then I add frosting by the spoon full until it all comes together.  If you add too much you risk the mix being too soft, and this will cause problems when you try to shape and dip the balls later.

I used a spoon for the first one so my hands would be clean enough to use the camera.  For the rest I just used my hand to scoop out some dough into the fondant cutter I used.

Once you have your mix ready you can shape it however you like.  Traditionally you want a ball of some sort.  I use all different sizes of ice cream scoops, from my tiny itty bitty TSP one, to my large 2 TBSP one.  Just depends on what you want to make.  For the Star Wars cake pops I actually used another technique.  I am sure I am not the first to do this, but I figured it out by myself and thought I was smart.  Feel free to think I am smart too if you like.

Make sure you press it down to make it full and as even as possible.

Then just push the shape out, it should not be too hard to push it out.

So I always work on wax or parchment paper.  I put the cookie cutter I want to use down then fill it with cake ball mix.  I press it down to make it flat then lift the cutter up.  Then I put the shape on a flat pan or cookie sheet covered in wax paper and put it in the fridge for a few hours or the freezer for about 20 minutes.

This is how I put them in the freezer. If they are going to be in there any longer than an hour I wrap the pan in plastic wrap to stop them from drying out.

While the cake balls are cooling get your stuff together.  You will need something to dip your cake balls in and then whatever else you want to decorate them with.  When I do just normal cake balls, I use my favorite chocolate candy melts and either sprinkles or a different color chocolate to drizzle over them.  For these Star wars ones, it will be different but the same.

I set up my dipping station, lots of wax paper gets used in my house.

When dipping a cake ball, I use the candy dipping tools I got at Micheal's, you can use a fork or spoon or whatever feels right. Also only take a few cake balls out of the fridge at a time so they do not get too soft.  Then dip your cake ball, tap off the extra chocolate and put it on a sheet of wax or parchment paper to dry.  Then decorate, if you are using sprinkles I suggest putting them on as you dip the cake balls.

Always dip the stick in melted chocolate that gives it something to stick to the cake pop filling.

If you are doing pops you can do this a few ways.  To have self standing pops, dip the stick you are using in the melts, then put it into the cake ball, dip the ball and set it on the wax paper to dry with the stick facing up.

If you are doing traditional pops, instead of standing the ball up, stand it up with the stick in Styrofoam or a block of some sort.

When you dip, try not to move the pop around too much or bits of it break off making the chocolate all chunky.

For these flat shape pops I just dip the cake pop on the stick, drag some of the chocolate off the back and then just lay it on the wax paper to harden.  I usually leave then for at least 30 minutes, this allows them to come back up to room temperature.  And as they do they may crack.  I am not sure if it is because of the chocolate being hot, or the middles being too cold, or what.  I just know that I end up double dipping mine to cover the cracks, it's easier than trying to figure out why I cannot get a good crack free coating in one go.

And that is how they look once dipped.

So once they are all dipped I let them dry, if you are doing regular cake balls, you don't need to double dip really.  I will used another colour of chocolate and drizzle it over to hide the cracks.  And with regular round cake pops, same thing as these I double dip usually.

And this is how they look as they are drying, some of them are cracking, as as you can see one fell off it's stick.  I always make extra for this very reason.

See the crack, you are going to cover it in chocolate then the image.

While the cake pops are drying I get my decorations all set up.  Depending on what you plan to do you get it all set. This was my first time making cake pops with pictures on them.  As I was going to cover them I did not need to double dip to cover the cracks.  So I started by getting Hubby to put some pictures together for me.  Since our computer at home is broken he just got them printed out on regular paper.  Then we scanned them on my edible printer and printed them out.  If I was smart I would have cut them out and put them all on one page to save the icing paper.  But I am not smart and do not think of these things until after the fact.  

This is the icing sheet, you can see part of the fondant cutter.  It is just like a paper cutter, just cooler.

To start I cut out my pictures, I have a fondant cutter from Wilton, I never used it before, but it worked great.  You just have to push on the blade a bit, but it was much faster than trying to cut it all out with scissors.  Then I put them in a baggy so they would not dry out.  The paper dries out so fast!

I keep them in a baggy so they don't dry out.

As this was my first time doing this I was not sure if I should use melted chocolate or maybe corn syrup to attach the image.  I tried the melted chocolate and it worked great.  It also made it easy to fill in all the cracks with chocolate.  So I just used a pastry brush and brushed on the chocolate then stuck on the image. You need to make sure your hands are clean  and dry, as you need to press the image out to make it stick and wet hands will tear the paper.

I used the left over chocolate to brush on and stick the pictures to.

So once the images were all on, I went back and painted the rest of the pop and dipped it in white decorating sugar.  This allowed me to cover all the rest of the cracks and sparkle up the pops.

Don't worry too much about the edged, they will be covered in sugar later.

It is hard to see but there is coarse white sugar all over the sides and back of the pops.

When I was all done I put them in little sucker bags and tied them with ribbon.  I also curled the ribbon.  Something I never do when just giving my treats to friends.  This was for a party so that is why I got all fancy don't you know.

And here they are all wrapped up and ready to go.  I do not put them in the fridge as they will get condensation on them and make the pictures bleed.

So have fun, and remember there are so many ideas on line, just google for what you want and chances are you will find something.  And if you want to do images but not buy a printer you can usually get them at your local bakery by the sheet.  I think my printer has been one of the funnest things ever.  Also my kid loves to eat the paper I don't use, so you know there is that too.

Hope this has given some of you some ideas and maybe even the push to try it out yourself.

I Put a Button on it!

  So I have been wanting a button for a while now. And with most things I want, at least related to computers, I tell Hubby.  Then I wait and see if he forgets, because I am constantly telling him about things I "need."

  So I really was not too shocked when he didn't get to it.  I  mean the man works two jobs, takes care of me and Pork Chop and you know, just tries to survive.  Don't tell him, but he does a lot, but this button thing.  Well I was on my own.  And by being on my own, I mean I was not going to do it.  So that is how it was.

  That is until Adrienne at Happy Hour Projects was super awesome and offered to make me one.  Seriously you guys, she made me my very own button!!!!!  After I told Hubby, who said, "I was going to do it!" I did a little happy dance and then promptly set about figuring out how to put it on my blog.  As you can tell, I did but other than that I have no clue what else to do with it.  I know some bloggers have buttons you can grab.  One day I will too.  Until that day I will just look at it and feel special, because I love it!!!  And if you want to make a button, check out this post by Adrienne.  Simply amazing! I know I have read her post a few times, but seriously computer stuff goes right over my head.  I need to have an hour or so, with no one else in the house so I can actually read and understand it.  It is simple for those of you that understand this sort of thing.

  And just so you know, Adrienne was so awesome to do this for me, she offered, as I had done a baking post for her.  But I totally got the better deal, have you seen my button? It's amazing!  Now if only we could make it smell like cookies, that would make it even better!

Thanks Adrienne!