{"id":4810,"date":"2012-03-08T10:03:29","date_gmt":"2012-03-08T16:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/?p=4810"},"modified":"2012-03-08T10:03:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-08T16:03:29","slug":"sprinkles-strawberry-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/08\/sprinkles-strawberry-cake\/","title":{"rendered":"Sprinkles Strawberry Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is something just plain fun about making layer cakes. \u00a0I shared this thought with Ben as I put the finishing touches on this cake that I’d started working on almost 24 hours earlier. \u00a0Cookies, cupcakes, brownies, bars, etc. are great because they are typically pretty easy, not terribly time consuming, you can make enough for a big group, and they are hard to screw up. \u00a0Cakes, on the other hand, can be troublesome for me because I worry about them not turning out and then not having a single thing to show for my hours spent in the kitchen. \u00a0Not to mention you have a big, sugary, calorie laden commitment on your hands…unless you’re giving the cake away or serving it to at least 12 people. \u00a0You also are not as free to taste test with a cake. \u00a0You can sneak a cookie, or a cupcake (or 2) without being found out, but steal a slice of cake before it’s served and everyone notices the big gaping hole and the crumbs you’re trying to wipe from your mouth. \u00a0Despite all that, making a layer cake is therapeutic and the end result is more rewarding than a batch of cookies. \u00a0I feel the same way about pie. \u00a0They are both big glorious circles of sweet goodness, meant to be displayed on a pretty cake plate and served on those lovely dessert plates you never use. \u00a0Am I being too dramatic about baked goods? \u00a0I guess it wouldn’t be the first time…<\/p>\n

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For some reason I was in the mood for strawberry cake, maybe it was all the pretty pink cakes I’d been seeing on Pinterest. \u00a0I’ve made Spinkles strawberry icing before, but never the cupcakes. \u00a0So I printed the recipes<\/a> off of Martha Stewart and headed to the store, a girl on a mission to make a delicious cake. \u00a0I was pretty excited about it.<\/p>\n

I doubled the cupcake recipe to make two 9-inch cakes. \u00a0I made 150% of the frosting. \u00a0At first I thought about doubling it but when I realized that meant 4 sticks of butter I decided we would just make do with less, and it was plenty.<\/p>\n

The cake is dense, not too terribly sweet, and not at all like the strawberry cake you can make from a box. \u00a0I wonder if it’s even possible to create a cake from scratch that is close in texture to a box mix. \u00a0If you know of a recipe, please send it to me! \u00a0Those soft textured cakes do tend to fall apart when frosted and stacked too high, so a dense cake is probably better when you’re planning on stacking 4 layers. \u00a0I usually grease my cake pans, line them with parchment circles, and then flour them. \u00a0Somehow I’d managed to run out of parchment and not buy any more. \u00a0So with a bit of fear I simply greased and floured my pans. \u00a0They came out perfectly! \u00a0That was a nice surprise.<\/p>\n

The frosting is SWEET. \u00a0Quite possibly too sweet, not for me, but for the average person. \u00a0I like sweetness and sugar…a lot. \u00a0If you are not as much of a sweet fan, maybe use half butter and half cream cheese for the frosting to give it a little tang. \u00a0Now that I am thinking about it,strawberry cream cheese icing sounds pretty incredible, so I might have to try it myself. \u00a0The frosting has little strawberry seeds, and some people may not like that. \u00a0So, use a sieve to strain the seeds from the puree if you’re one of those people. \u00a0I like my frosting stiff when I frost a layer cake so that it doesn’t start to fall off the cake. \u00a0In order to achieve this I had to add more powdered sugar than the recipe calls for (which explains the sweetness) but really does make frosting and decorating less stressful.<\/p>\n

Here are some tips for layers cakes that I’ve found helpful.<\/p>\n