Sunday, May 13, 2012

Angry birds cake, Marble cake with Swiss meringue frosting

   Fondant figures waiting to be assembled on the cake. See below for the finished cake.


The flavor for this cake is marble and the best recipe to get this from is Martha Stewart. She makes some pretty amazing ones. Her marble cake was the best choice as its one of the good ones out there. The only problem I encountered was quadrupling this recipe because hers makes one  9x5 loaf pan and I needed it for a 10" square. I doubled the recipe and got a batch of cupcakes along with the 10" square so be ready to have some extras for taste testing.

The icing is Swiss meringue, Martha's recipe again as this is the best recipe for  a smooth wedding cake look alike kind cakes. The icing is also good for making roses and intricate details as it can withstand some extra handling of the pastry bags without melting or altering the consistency unlike the butter cream.
 
 
 Decorations are made of fondant, all the little figures, catapult, little stones and the henge I did not bother making them from scratch as today was not the day for experiments and besides Wilton  and Duff  Goldman  both sells great fondant and are reasonably priced. So don't bother unless you actually plan on eating them. Mine was more for the deco, anyway.
 
 
 
 
 Here's how it all looked put together. It was a big hit, taste wise among the grown-ups and the 12 yr olds loved demolishing the cake to death. That was whole purpose of making this cake. What did you think...the kids looked forward to eating it? No Siree! They couldn't wait to pick the little figures off the cake and trying some free throws before popping them into their mouth.  "Cool looking cake" is all I heard from the party hostess at the bowling alley and the kids and most importantly the birthday boy!


I have doubled the recipe that yields one 10" square and about 8 cupcakes. Bake for 1 hr and 15 minutes for cake and 18 to 15 minutes for cupcakes.

Yield Makes one 9x 5 loaf cake

Ingredients
 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside 1/3 of the batter.
  3. In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.
  4. Spoon batters into the prepared pan in 2 layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion. I skipped marbling but instead put a couple tablespoons of chocolate batter in random places.
  5. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack. Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days


A look on the inside!

 

 

Swiss Meringue buttercream

Ingredients
 
2 1/2 cups sugar
10 large egg whites
4 cups (8 sticks or 2 pounds) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 
Directions
  1. Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
  2. Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
  3. Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
  4. Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes. This is one step that is crucial  is to beat the chilled buttercream to room temperate for the smooth finish on cakes.