Thursday, May 2, 2013

Spring Party Cake Made Simple!

I am the Queen of Simple.... But I like to LOOK elaborate.

It's an art.

:)

Kudos, commendations, ooooos and aaaaahhhhhhssss.....

LOVE THEM!!!!

But youse guys know that my time disappears.... I work full time, I have a house that breaks regularly, a husband (Does that count as another full-time job, perhaps????) an amazing writing career that has taken on a life of its own and leaves me happy-dancing and scratching my head wondering how on earth I got here....

and a host of kids and grandkids. Plus some interesting creatures that lurk in the edges of both my yard and consciousness, so when brilliance STRIKES!!!! I grab hold and run with it.

Here is the cake:

Swoon worthy, right????  And I could have shaved chocolate on the edges, but really, it wasn't necessary.

So here you go:

Make the custard filling, RECIPE HERE...  and remember, this recipe is tried and true, it's an amazing custard and you need about two cups here so you can do the two-cup recipe (just cut the measurements in half) but my rule-of-thumb is if you're making it, why not use the full four-cup recipe because having a dish of sweet custard in the fridge could never be construed as a bad thing, right????

Bake cake of your choosing. We used a white cake mix but any flavor would do.

Whip about two-cups of heavy whipping cream sweetened with 1/2 cup sugar

Once cake is cool, slice one layer in half... freeze the other layer for next time then you can skip the cake-baking part.  SUHWWWWWEEEEEEEET!

Spread bottom half with chilled custard... and it's okay to go on thickly, there is no such thing as too much custard. Really. I saw that online and you know they can never put anything that isn't true on the World Wide Web.

Right?????  :)

Slice a banana or two over custard layer.... Add top layer. Frost with whipped cream. Now I have a cake decorating kit so I got a little fancy schmancy with the whipped cream, but you can simply frost the sides and top.... and leave a thick ridge around the top edge if'n youse don't have a "star" tube and pastry bag... Then layer fresh strawberries (I used some strawberry pie filling too, for glaze, but it's not necessary) around the middle.... If you want to glaze them for "sparkle", keep a small jar of apple jelly on hand. You just heat up a couple of tablespoons of that apple jelly, take a little pastry brush and "paint" the jelly on the strawberries on top... That way they won't get funky if they sit, but I promise youse, this cake will not SIT.

It will be eaten and folks will jump up and down, clapping and exclaiming with joy and really the only thing you had to MAKE was the pudding... and the cake mix.... And now you've got a frozen layer so next time you don't even have to do THAT!

And that's my simple/delicious fun cake of the day....

And here's a pic of the peeps I made this for:

Here is the pretty FANCY table that Casey and Taylor (two of my double-digit peeps) set for Ruthy's Bistro Cafe on Monday:

And here was our "wait staff" for the day:

Casey and Taylor, ready to rock and roll the party!

And here is Casey gathering the drink orders!!!!


While Taylor jots down food orders on her waitressing pad....


Our dessert?

You guessed it!


8 comments:

  1. YUM!
    can't look anymore - weight watchers :-(

    susanna

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    Replies
    1. Hahaha! So true.... I nibble. A taste is all I need to make me smile because I hate dieting.

      And the kids made sure there were no leftovers!

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  2. I love my grandmother's custard recipe but yours is so much simpler and I can use tapioca starch. Yum.

    You also make me want to book a cake off between you and Virginia. Just for laughs and scrumptiousness!

    Peace, Julie

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    Replies
    1. Julie, I love thickening with tapioca.... and the peach pie recipe (the best I've ever had or made) that came from my mother-in-law last summer is just melt in your mouth GOOD with that added tapioca AND... it never gets runny and the crust doesn't turn instantly soggy like with most peach pies. Tapioca starch is a great tool in the kitchen... and my rhubarb will be ready to harvest when I get home next week.....

      CAN YOU SAY EXCITED???? :)

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  3. I kept reading about putting the extra custard in the fridge...freezing the other half of the cake...this sounds like a two-cake recipe! You can oooh and aaah twice as many people at one time!

    I like using tapioca in the kitchen, too. Those fresh fruit pies always turn out perfectly when you use tapioca.

    And color me GREEN with envy. Rhubarb! I haven't had good, fresh rhubarb in at least ten years (that stale stuff at the grocery store doesn't count). Waiting...waiting...waiting for the farmer's market to open, and hoping one of those vendors will have rhubarb this year!

    (Yes, I am going to be planting some of my own.)

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  4. YUM YUM YUM!!!!!! This is so pretty!!!

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  5. That looks positively delicious!!!! But is there a difference between cornstarch and cream cornstarch? I've only ever seen cornstarch up here. Inquiring baking minds need to know in order to make this puppy for Mother's Day. :-)

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  6. So pretty!! And you piped the icing to make it look so good. I can't ever do that! But at least it won't change the taste. :)

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