Test Cake

Today is my wonderful husband's 40th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK!!! I mentioned a few posts back that I was going to order a giant cupcake pan from Williams-Sonoma for Sarah's birthday smash cake. Mark immediately said he wanted one for his birthday too! I thought that this would be a good opportunity to try the pan out and practice my technique before Sarah's big day.

For the cake I used 2 boxes of Funetti i happened to have in the pantry. To personalize it for Mark, I flavored it with a little orange and vanilla extracts to give it a nice "dreamsicle" flavor. In the oven for about 60 minutes at 325 degrees and it came out perfectly moist. I let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so, then sawed off the excess cake that rose over the top of the pan. I then put it on the rack to cool. This is the first time I have used Wilton's Cake Release to coat the pan before baking, and I must say it left an ultra smooth crumb-free surface to the cake for frosting.

I have seen many baking bloggers recommend using candy melts to do the giant cupcake liner and I just happened to score several bags of lime green candy melts during Halloween. It turned out pretty well, but I rushed through it a bit and there are some air bubbles (you can see them if you zoom in) that kept it from having a perfectly smooth finish.

Once the liner was done and the cake cooled, I made the frosting. For this i used Wilton's whipped frosting. This is the powdered stuff that comes in a box that you mix with ice water. I have tried a similar one from the grocery store (I think Duncan Hines), and although it looks nice, it really didn't taste very good. This one tastes great! I added a bit of orange extract and neon blue food coloring to the measuring cup before adding the water so I wouldn't mess up the consistency. I then used it to put the pieces of the cupcake together (liner, base and top) and used probably half of it frosting the top (one box makes quite a bit of frosting).

Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out. For Sarah's picture cake and party cake (her 1 year pictures are the week before her birthday party) the liner is still going to be the lime green, but the frosting will be neon pink and the star candle will be purple.

So I will be making this cake 2 more times in the next month! I should be a pro by the time it is all said and done.

Oh..... Mark and Sarah both really enjoyed eating it. =)