So I used these ....
and added this ...
and a whole lot of something called
(Luckily I had decided to make only half a batch of the buttercream to try it ... and make more if it works out. It turned out that even half a batch still was WAY too much for the cake.)
and ended up with this ...
And if you don't know what I was aiming for it actually looked pretty good! ;-)
I used a recipe by Martha Stewart that is called Tea Party Cake. I had fallen in love with this cake quite some time ago. I had it saved and wanted to try it but there never was a good occasion. So when I was asked to make a cake for my granddad's 90th birthday I figured that a 90th birthday is a pretty good reason to make such a cake! :-)
I would have really liked to make a square cake like in the picture of the Martha Stewart homepage. There is something I like about it's squareness. (Is that a word?) But square cakes - and therefore square cake pans - are rather unusual in Germany. Around here cakes are round! Therefore the usual cake pans you get are round - of course. You can get square ones nowadays - but they usually have rounded edges (Do the cake pans in the US also have rounded edges?) which I do not like and they are rather pricey! :-( So, to make it short - I do not have a square cake pan (except for a brownie pan which would not work) and did not want to pay money, that would buy me several round pans for just one square cake ... so I made a round one.
But if anyone out there happens to have a spare square one and does not know what to do with it ... well, send it my way! ;-) I will trade for felt finger puppets, crocheted pigs or whatever else I could make for you. :-) I would also happily send you a baked square cake but I guess that would violate customs regulations ...
Anyway, so I made the round. And I used just the white Swiss meringue buttercream - without added strawberry puree. I wanted a completely white cake with silver pearls. I think it looks good. I actually wanted to decorate it with a round tip. But my round tip was too small - so I had to use the star-shaped tip. I am pretty sure that I would have liked the look of the round one better but it still turned out alright I guess. I have never done piped decorations before so I am quite happy with the result! It does come quite close to what I had envisioned.
I did try to make a piped rose to add at the edge - but failed at several attempts and decided that I like the cake better without a rose ! ;-)
And the best thing: my family DID like it!!! Oh my - what happened!? I had prepared myself for the usual - "Too sweet.", "Too many calories.", "Too big." ... Told myself beforehand a million times that it did not matter whether they liked it or not ... I finally got to make it and if I like it that's fine. But almost everyone requested a piece! Wow! And they liked it! I got quite a few compliments and people asked whether they could take left-overs home. (It was a pretty HUGE cake.) I gotta tell you THAT felt really good!
So, how was the taste! I loved the chocolate cake!!! You can use the recipe to make cupcakes or "big" cakes. I had already tested it and made chocoalte cupcakes for Easter. And it tasted really well together with the strawberry cream cheese filling! I personally did not like the Swiss meringue buttercream too much. For my taste there was too much butter in it and - of course - it hardens when cooled. I am very intrigued to trying the frosting without adding butter though. I guess it will be harder to decorate ... but I think I would like the taste much better. It's supposed to taste kinda like marshmallows ... mmh ...
I would have really liked to make a square cake like in the picture of the Martha Stewart homepage. There is something I like about it's squareness. (Is that a word?) But square cakes - and therefore square cake pans - are rather unusual in Germany. Around here cakes are round! Therefore the usual cake pans you get are round - of course. You can get square ones nowadays - but they usually have rounded edges (Do the cake pans in the US also have rounded edges?) which I do not like and they are rather pricey! :-( So, to make it short - I do not have a square cake pan (except for a brownie pan which would not work) and did not want to pay money, that would buy me several round pans for just one square cake ... so I made a round one.
But if anyone out there happens to have a spare square one and does not know what to do with it ... well, send it my way! ;-) I will trade for felt finger puppets, crocheted pigs or whatever else I could make for you. :-) I would also happily send you a baked square cake but I guess that would violate customs regulations ...
Anyway, so I made the round. And I used just the white Swiss meringue buttercream - without added strawberry puree. I wanted a completely white cake with silver pearls. I think it looks good. I actually wanted to decorate it with a round tip. But my round tip was too small - so I had to use the star-shaped tip. I am pretty sure that I would have liked the look of the round one better but it still turned out alright I guess. I have never done piped decorations before so I am quite happy with the result! It does come quite close to what I had envisioned.
I did try to make a piped rose to add at the edge - but failed at several attempts and decided that I like the cake better without a rose ! ;-)
And the best thing: my family DID like it!!! Oh my - what happened!? I had prepared myself for the usual - "Too sweet.", "Too many calories.", "Too big." ... Told myself beforehand a million times that it did not matter whether they liked it or not ... I finally got to make it and if I like it that's fine. But almost everyone requested a piece! Wow! And they liked it! I got quite a few compliments and people asked whether they could take left-overs home. (It was a pretty HUGE cake.) I gotta tell you THAT felt really good!
So, how was the taste! I loved the chocolate cake!!! You can use the recipe to make cupcakes or "big" cakes. I had already tested it and made chocoalte cupcakes for Easter. And it tasted really well together with the strawberry cream cheese filling! I personally did not like the Swiss meringue buttercream too much. For my taste there was too much butter in it and - of course - it hardens when cooled. I am very intrigued to trying the frosting without adding butter though. I guess it will be harder to decorate ... but I think I would like the taste much better. It's supposed to taste kinda like marshmallows ... mmh ...
So, would you like a piece?
9 comments:
oh yes please...i have felt like eating something yummy all evening! it looks divine!
becky
GORGEOUS cake! And it looks so delicious!! :o)
I don't have any square pans either... Well, I have some square Pyrex pans, but I don't think that's the same thing... I know they exist around here, though!
How desperate for square pans ARE you? ;o) I wonder what the shipping would cost.....
Thanks for the nice comments!
And Care, I guess I am not desperate enough to pay the money they actually cost! :-)
I just checked amazon and they also have them and they are on sale right now ... (But also with rounded edges ... strange ... I guess it is because around here we only seem to have those pans that have those snaps to open the sides and you can take them apart ... We don't seem to have those "cheap" pans that are basically just a square dish - like a brownie pan just with straight edges.) They are still more than I would pay for a regular round one ... but not as badly as the other ones I saw. I am also going to check ebay. And who knows ... maybe I will be lucky and we will have them in chain stores at some point ... A couple months ago I bought a really really nice brownie pan (with a removeable bottom) here in Germany in one of our chain stores. And considering that you can not even buy brownies over here ... that was really something. I am also planning to just try whether I could make a reagular cake in the brownie pan. I would have to cut of a lot since the sides are not straight ... but oh well, it's not like the cut off bits would be goint to waste ... ;-)
And it is so sweet of you to ask, but I am pretty sure that with shipping the price of a cake pan would be just as much (or even more) as to buy one here ...
But thanks for thinking about it though! :-)
I think that is absolutely beautiful. wish We didn't live in different countries cause I now I am in the mood for cake.
Why, yes, I'd love a piece of your yummy cake and I think it looked perfect for a 90th birthday celebration. Hope you find your square pans!
No matter what this looks tasty! My grandmother always used those silver balls and it made everything seem fancier. Good luck on finding the square pans. Thanks for linking up to Craftastic Monday - I'd love if you added my party button:)
so pretty and yummy! Please accept my invitation to drop in at my place when you get a moment. I have become a follower and would be honored if you choose to the same!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such nice comments about my tote redo! Yes, it is large but I've used it several times now and it can hold ALOT when I'm hitting the thrifts and yard sales. I love that. Your site makes me ravenously hungry. I love your projects!
Thanks all for the lovely comments!
@Cheryl:
I did add the button - just to the side of my blog instead of the post itself. Hope that is alright?!
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