Bake a cake. :)

It twas a rainy day here in the STL...

What ever is one to do?

BAKE A CAKE, DUHH!

Baking a cake from scratch is just as simple as doing it from the box, it just takes a little longer.  In my opinion, wayyyy worth the time!

Diva-Chef White Cake

-Stage 1

     2 each 9 inch round cake pans

     2 parchment circle

     2 TBSP Flour

     Pam, for spraying

            1) Spray the inside of the pans with pam

            2) Fit the parchment circles to the bottom

            3) Spray the top of the circles and sprinkle with flour

Believe it or not, having this done first is really important! 

As soon as your done mixing your batter the baking powder is in action doing what it does.

YOU GOTTA GET THAT BABY IN THE OVEN!

-Stage 2

     12 TBSP Butter, softened

     1.5 cups Sugar

               1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

               2) Cream together butter and sugar

I usually pull my butter out and cut it in to cubes and let it sit for about 10 minutes before I blend it, the smaller size of the cubes and the softness of the butter make it easier.

To me, HOMEMADE means HANDMADE.  I alternate between using a whire wisk and a warm wooden spoon but if your more comfortable just pull out an electric mixer.

-Stage 3

     2 cups of all-purpose flour

     2 tsp baking powder

     1/4 tsp salt

          1)Sift together, set aside.

Some chefs say don't worry about sifting your flour, I like to for 2 reasons. 

#1- It removes the lumps and particulates from the flour. 

#2-  It aerates the flour which actually helps make the finished product more light and airy.  I like fluffy cake with volume, so I sift.  Your call.



-Stage 4

     6 large egg whites

     3/4 cup milk

     2 tsp extract

          1) Guess what?  Wisk it together and set aside.

Its really important that you let these ingridients come to room temperature before moving on to the next stage.  If the side of the bowl is cool to the touch, your not ready.

I like to use almond extract in my cakes, the aroma and flavor are amazing to me.

You can play around with extracts to give it the flavor you want.

Another great one is strawberry extract, but be aware it will change the color of the cake to pink.

Use fresh eggs, its makes a diffrence in flavor.

If your eggs are fresh, the white should serperate from the yolk in two flips from shell to shell.

Stage 5

     1) Alternate adding the ingridients from stages 3 and 4 to the butter and sugar you creamed in stage 2.

     2) Mix until smooth and pour half the batter in to each of your prepped baking pan.

Get those puppies in the oven. :)

Middle rack is the best place.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

(Mine took 22)

Finished cakes will be golden around the edges and spring back when touched.

Let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan then turn them out to finish on a rack.

Little trick-

Make a simple syrup of 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.

Pour it over the warm cake.

This keeps it moist for DAYS!

Tomorrow- Decorating and filling!  Buen Appetito!

-Diva-Chef