17 | June | 2011 | Cookie Carrie

So I realized I am really bad at following directions in a recipe. On the bright side, it ends up more of an “adaptation” that way.

Last night I was planning on making a cake for my new cake stand. I had purchased all of the ingredients for both the cake and a jello mold I wanted to eventually try with a new jello mold my mom gave me (it’s old actually, just new to me). I was getting ready to start and I just thought “It’s a little silly to be baking when it’s so hott outside!” So then my husband suggests I make the jello mold instead. Sounded like a good idea, so I started making the jello. Then I realized I had bought fresh raspberries for the cake, and they weren’t going to last long. So I made both. Two new recipes in one evening? Not such a good idea…

The jello I’m not even going to talk about. Just know that I will try it again one of these says and it will make it onto this blog! It just doesn’t deserve it this time.

The cake. Mmmmm the cake. I was thinking the whole time that at least I didn’t mess up the cake like I did the jello! At least I can follow some directions.. HA. I got to the end and realized I made a big boo-boo, but it ended up tasting absolutely AMAZING and I will intentionally make the same “boo-boo” every time I make this cake! It was so good in fact, that a coworker ordered one from me for a party this weekend! So I baked the same cake (the same way!) both Tuesday and Thursday this week. I took more pictures the second time around, because the jello incident had me too frazzled to remember the first time around!

The original recipe is here. What follows is my “adaptation.”

Raspberry Lemonade Cake

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker supermoist white cake mix

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)

1 3oz box raspberry jello

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 egg whites

fresh raspberries (about 2 cups)

1 16oz box powdered sugar

3 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) (softened)

1 container frozen whipped topping (thawed) (I used fat-free)

1. Heat 1 cup of water over low heat. Wisk in packet of jello. Keep stirring until all the powder is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

2. Preheat oven to 350, or 325 for dark/nonstick pans.

3. In large bowl, beat together cake mix, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup jello, 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate (shake the can before you open it!), the oil, and the egg whites on low speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides on bowl and beat on medium speed for at least 2 minutes.

*Pause* Look how pretty the batter is! It reminds me of bubblegum!

4. Pour batter evenly into 2 cake pans. I used 9″. Tap them on the counter to even the batter out. Bake for about 25 minutes, cake is done when toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

5. As soon as you take the cakes out of the oven, poke the tops with a fork every inch or so. Each hole becomes a pocket of “wonderfullness” as the original receipe says!

6. Stir together the rest of the can of lemonade and the remaining jello juice. Carefully spoon over the cakes so that it seeps into all the little holes! Let cool completely (at least 1 hour).

*Pause* The first time around I couldn’t figure out why there was soo much liquid. Maybe because the original directions said 1/2 cup lemonade, half of which goes into the cake, so there is onyl 1/4 cup left to add to the jello and spoon over the top of the cake. Me not paying attention, used the whole can, which is like 5x more lemonade than you’re supposed to use. The result was a tart-sweet cake that was very very moist and amazing. I imagine the original recipe results in a sweet (rather than tart) taste and not so moist.

7. When cake is completely cool, remove the first from the pan by inverting onto a clean flat cutting board. Then invert again onto either a cake plate/platter or onto a cardboard cake base. Use a long bread knife to level off the top of the cake. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will help it be better balanced.

8. For the frosting, mix together powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla until very smooth. I like to add white food coloring to brighten it up, but you don’t have to. Once it’s all smooth, carefully fold in the whipped topping.

9. Plop a hefty portion of frosting on top of the bottom cake and smooth to the edges. Invert the second cake onto the (clean) cutting board, then carefully invert again onto the top of the other cake. Because the cakes are now so moist, be really careful not to break or crumble the top cake!

*Pause* I was pretty much freaking out trying to flip a sopping wet cake over on top of another cake. I was soo scared it was going to fall apart! Especially for the second cake because it was for someone else!

10. Plop a bunch more frosting on the top of the cake and start spreading. Use a lot and never let the spreader touch the cake surface, that’s how you get crumbs in your frosting! Do the sides and top separately, never spread from side to top in one motion, or the other way around. It helps keep a clean shape.

*Pause* At this point, my house was pretty warm, and my frosting was melting off my cake as I frosted. I popped both the cake and bowl of frosting into the fridge for about 15 minutes, and it came together better and was much easier to work with. I recommend the AC being on if it’s a hot day and you’re frosting a cake!

11. Top the cake with fresh raspberries, or serve along side the cake when cutting.

The ones above are the Tuesday version, on my new cake pedestal. The top one is kind of a bad picture so you can’t tell, but the pedestal is clear purple. So pretty! I served the raspberries on the side the first time.

The picture below I topped with the raspberries so that it would look fancy for my “customer”!