The Secrets of My Success

Aw, shucks.

Y'all are way too generous with your cake compliments. But I'll take 'em. And in return, you have my undying love and gratitude.

By the way, you can do this. It's not that difficult if you have some creativity, a little patience, and a couple of days. (For the record, Al's First Birthday cake was store-bought. School started back before his birthday last year, and I just didn't have the time to do a homemade cake. Sometimes you have to let the local bakery do its thing.)

Thanks to my very patient mother and grandmother, I started cooking when I was about 5 years old. Since then, cooking has remained one of my favorite hobbies. Recently, when things got a little stressful at work, I spent entire weekends baking and frosting cupcakes. Cooking is my therapy. Fortunately, my other hobby is running.

Baking is particularly fun because it can be a bit more challenging than other cooking "genres." While many savory dishes can easily be modified with a "dash more of this or a little less of that," the texture and flavor of cakes (and cookies, too, in case you wondered) are directly affected by the measurements and ratios of your ingredients. If you use a rated recipe source, like Allrecipes.com, you'll find plenty of good, dependable recipes and you won't have to worry about the numbers as long as you follow the recipes to the letter.

That being said, I don't think anyone should ever feel guilty for using a mix. Mixes are handy, reliable, and tasty. Some people actually prefer the taste of a mix cake to a from-scratch cake. But if you're an overachiever, a purist, or a glutton for punishment like me, scratch recipes are the way to go.

All in all, I have over 30 years' experience in the kitchen. Gosh, when I write it that way, I feel like I should be far more advanced in my culinary skills. Oh, well. I've learned a lot over the course of those 30 some-odd years. Remember, too, I spent several years as a single, childless Martha-wannabe with plenty of time on her hands to practice and experiment.

Here are a few things I've learned about how to bake good cakes:

1. This is most important, and if you never learn another thing about cakes, remember this: It is always much better to serve (and eat!) a delicious-tasting, yet butt-ugly cake than a beautiful but dry and mediocre cake. Although pretty cakes are, well, pretty, people will always remember the taste more than they'll remember the appearance. Test out your recipes and always, always abide by the next tip:
   
2. In order to make a great-tasting cake (or any other food for that matter), you've got to use the very best ingredients that you can find. This means real butter, real cream, quality vanilla, excellent chocolate and cocoa, and the freshest eggs. I've discovered that unless I use cake flour, I can't make a decent from-scratch yellow cake to save my life.
3. Cake recipes that call for oil are naturally more moist, and they don't require much special attention during the mixing process (I've had pretty good results using a wooden spoon to mix these kinds of cakes, even). However, recipes that call for butter can be just as moist if you cream the butter well before adding the other ingredients. Let it get good and fluffy before adding the sugar, and then cream it some more. Once you add the other ingredients, though, only mix until everything is combined. I'm not sure about the chemistry and physics behind this technique, but so far, it's worked for me.
4. To make sure any cake is moist at serving time, do this: After baking, let it cool to room temperature in the pan, and then turn it out onto a plate or plastic wrap or waxed paper. At this point, if you plan to fill and assemble layers, go ahead and do so. Also if you're going to do a crumb coat (HIGHLY recommended for dark cakes with light frostings, like the birthday cake), do that now. Then, wrap the cake in plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer or refrigerator for several hours, preferably overnight. Take it out, let it come to room temperature in the plastic wrap so that condensation forms on the wrap, not on your cake or crumb coat. Then unwrap and frost as usual. Baking911 gives a lot of tips and information about frosting a cake .
   
5. When mixing homemade frostings, be patient and mix well. The longer you mix it, the smoother and fluffier and yummier it will be.
   
6. If you want to get into decorating, buy a couple of tubs of cheap frosting (or go ahead and try out some frosting recipes), some tips and disposable bags (available at craft stores and large supermarkets), and play around on a piece of cardboard. I've never taken any kind of cake decorating class, but I've read and practiced plenty. I'm sure my technique is horrible, but who cares? Noone will know if you've got perfect decorating skills or not (again, they'll be thinking about how yummy that cake is). If you can make stars, you're on your way.
   
7. Have fun, and don't take any of this too seriously. It's just cake, after all.

While I was proud of the way Al's birthday cake looked, it was far from perfect. And really, I couldn't relax until I had hacked into that baby and served it to some of my most valued and honest critics (i.e. family members). It was good. Even the Mr. said so, and he doesn't particularly like cake. (I know, he's weird.)

Here's a yummy Buttercream Frosting recipe I really love:

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c shortening (use a good brand)
1 t vanilla (use colorless vanilla to keep the frosting white)
1/4 t salt
8 c confectioners' sugar
1/2 c heavy cream

Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla and beat again. Add sugar and cream alternately and beat and beat and beat some more until smooth and fluffy. Add more sugar for a stiffer frosting or more cream for a softer and creamier consistency.

Again, thank you. And do not fear the mixer. You can do it, too.