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For Ty, Michelle, and Brian’s Fourth of July party, 2007.

Narrative

For the fresh berries, we used a simple strained apricot preserve glaze, mixed with Grand Marnier. It didn’t set: it just kind of ran down the cake a little. Potential fixes: 1) add sugar, 2) make it boil, 3) add Grand Marnier before heating the jam, 4) just use a simple confectioner’s/juice glaze (try here) next time! I used 2 forks to apply the blueberries carefully to the cake: this step was quite necessary, as placing them with the fingers would have been impossibly messy and imperfect.

The icing was Wilton buttercream (not the decorator’s buttercream, but the real stuff). It worked quite well, especially because its sweetness really complemented the bread-y texture of the cake. Great, classic buttercream. You couldn’t really taste the shortening. I tried to make a raspberry buttercream by adding fresh raspberries, and boy was that a mistake! The two literally did not mix, and the result looked disgusting (although quite yummy). I had to throw it out and make a whole new batch of frosting.

I iced it using the Betty Crocker method: Ice sides first, allowing a ridge to poke up; ice top, beginning in middle, just bringing icing from middle to touch the ridge. This method finally helped me not mess up the top corners. Of course, the BC method is just so because it’s designed for people who don’t want to mess with leveling cake layers (the icing ridge hides the dome! so deceptive). Nonetheless, MUST make ridges from now on!

The cake—a basic yellow cake—had a lovely flavor: full of vanilla, obviously homemade, with a large yet consistent crumb. It was slightly too dry/dense for my taste, so if I make it again, make sure to brush cut layers with simple syrup next time. The recipe was one that I’d made a lot of helpful changes to (separating eggs, alternating milk and egg mixtures with flour, reducing baking powder)... so it seems pretty hopeless for the recipe.

Unless I want a great mix between a yellow cake and a pound cake, I won’t do it again.

h1.

What I learned:

1. Don’t use the simple apricot glaze if you want it to set.
2. Add simple syrup to layers if they look dense or dry.
3. Transporting on a cake board and in a cake holder was key to easy movement.
4. Mixing fresh raspberries with anything is a real gamble.
5. Frosting sides so that a ridge pokes up 1/3 inch above sides, to make a rim around the cake, is essential to not scraping the top corners while smoothing frosting.

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