Today we've got something that can easily be the centerpiece of your table, and is quite easy to make. Done right, your Pumpkin Patch Cake will quickly be the life of the party.
Ingredients:
- 2 Boxes Light-Colored Cake Mix
- White cake mix works well, as does any of the Yellow or Butter varieties.
- Whatever The Cake Mix Boxes Call For
- White Frosting
- Premade works well, but if you make your own, make sure it comes up to the same consistency as the store-bought stuff.
- Green, Yellow, and Red Food Coloring
- Spray Grease
- 2tsp Pumpkin Spice Extract
- I like to use LorAnn Pumpkin Spice Bakery Emulsion. You could likely get away with using a mixture of spices, but I'm not 100% on the amount to use. Best of luck.
Equipment:
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Small Microwave Safe Mixing Bowl
- 2 Stir Spoons
- Bundt Pan
- Cooling Rack
- Oven
- Cake Tester
- I actually like to use this onion holder thing that I got a while back that has a lot of spikes on it, so I can get a good sampling of what's really going on inside the cake, because with my luck, if I use a single-spike tester, I always wind up hitting that one bit that's done when the rest of the cake is raw.
- Cookie Sheet
The first thing you'll want to do after preheating the oven to 350F (325F for dark pans) is fully grease up your Bundt pan. Yes, even if it's a silicone pan. Just trust me on this one. Don't over do it on the grease, otherwise the outside of your cake will fry and get all crunchy, but make sure you cover all of the inside of the pan, especially around the center post. Set the pan aside for the time being
In the large mixing bowl, mix up both of the cake mixes according to the directions on the box. After it's fairly smooth, you're going to dye the cake mix orange and add the flavoring. If you started off with a yellow cake mix, it'll take less yellow dye to get it the right hue. Start of with a little bit of dye at first, because you can always add more. Trying to take the dye back out? Well... that's another story entirely. For "white" cake mixes, a ratio of 2 drops yellow to 1 drop red usually works, adding in increments of that until the batter is the right color.
Regardless of if your Bundt pan is silicone or not, I recommend placing it on a baking tray (cookie sheet) for ease of migration. Evenly distribute the batter in the Bundt pan, trying to keep any of it from getting on the center post. It's not the end of the world if the batter winds up there, but I'd recommend wiping it off, as it'll burn while cooking and be all crunchy-weird. Your Bundt pan should be a little over half way full.
Now, this is a double cake, so it'll take more time than a regular cake would to bake. I think mine took around 45 minutes on convection mode, in a silicone pan. Metal pans may cook differently. I'd say start with 20 minutes and test it in 10 minute intervals. Be sure to poke the cake tester into the "thickest" part of the cake ring.
Once the cake is fully done, pull it out and let it cool off. While it's cooling, put the frosting in the microwave safe bowl, and microwave it in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until it becomes just barely "soft" and easily stirrable. Stir in enough green food coloring to make the frosting a vibrant green.
Once the cake pan is cool enough to safely handle bare handed, but is still warm, hold the cooling rack over the top of it and gently flip the two of them over as one unit. Set the combined pieces on your work surface, and then gently try to lift the pan off from both sides at the same time. Mine actually came off quite easily, but I've used silicone bakeware a lot and am used to greasing it properly. If your pan (silicone or not) doesn't come off easily, gently vibrate the pan while applying even pressure around the edges. If your pan is silicone, you can try to gently peel it off / push the bottom inward. Be careful, as you don't want to rip your cake.
Once the cake has cooled completely, transfer it to a serving dish using both hands and drizzle the frosting over the top. You can microwave the frosting again for just a bit if it has hardened back up, but be careful not to make it too runny. It's worth noting that the outside of the cake will be slightly brownish once it comes out of the pan, but the inside will be wonderfully orange, and looks beautiful when cut.
No comments:
Post a Comment