Easter noms!

[FlybyStardancer]

So, I made a red velvet cake bunny for Easter! Alton Brown's recipe (minus food coloring), and I used IrishLass' recipe for ermine frosting. I don't totally love it, but my friends did, even the one who doesn't like frosting! And the fact that it uses granulated sugar instead of powdered is very handy when my corn-sensitive friend is in the group.

The m&ms were my BFF's touch.

 

[shunt2011]

That's so very cute!

 

[Arimara]

I've read somewhere that some organic powdered sugar is made with tapioca and that has some nifty advantages of the normal one from the store.

 

[Kamahido]

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!:evil::evil::evil::evil:

 

[Rusti]

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!:evil::evil::evil::evil:

I don't in huge quantities. I like small, polite amounts on my cake thankyewverymuch or I'll end up scraping it all off.

 

[IrishLass]

It came out adorable! How did the cake part of the cake come out without the food coloring? I confess I've never made a red velvet cake before, because the thought of all that red food coloring really bugs me out.

I was reading on some sites, though, how the 'original' red velvet cake wasn't actually red in color, but was only called 'red velvet' because it was in a class of cakes known in the 19th century as 'velvet' cakes- which were famous for their velvety texture that came from using buttermilk and baking soda- and that it was only tagged with the moniker 'Red' because instead of white sugar, it was made with brown sugar, which was known back then as 'red sugar'..... and that the cake did not actually become red in color until the 1930's when a food dye company used the cake as a way to boost their sales. I don't know enough about it to be able to confirm or deny the veracity of all that, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's how it all started out. lol If true- then I guess that what you made was an original red velvet cake.

My Easter noms were little strawberry ball-shaped cakes/truffles that I baked in my Nordicware 'cake pop' pans, then filled with a dollop of strawberry flavored Swiss meringue buttercream before dipping in dark chocolate. They came out really yummy. And I found a great way to give my buttercream an intense, authentic, natural strawberry flavor without resorting to chemical flavorings...by using freeze-dried strawberries that I pulverized to powder in my food processor (bought them at Wholefoods). I used a bit of the powder in my cake, too. I got the idea off of a few internet blogs, and oh my- it works awesome!!! My frosting tastes so good and bursting with fresh strawberry flavor that I'm tempted to eat a whole bowl of it all by itself. lol

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!

Uh oh.....me....sometimes...... it all depends on the kind of frosting. The kind that I hate is the one known as 'American Buttercream, which is made with butter and lots of powdered sugar. Blech! The kinds that I really love are these: whipped cream frosting, Ermine frosting, and Swiss meringue buttercream.

IrishLass

 

[lenarenee]

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!:evil::evil::evil::evil:

The true hallmark of an excellent cake: is it delicious without frosting?!

(Or did I get that backwards?)

 

[Arimara]

The true hallmark of an excellent cake: is it delicious without frosting?!

(Or did I get that backwards?)

They are both equally important. If one or the other is bad, the cake is ruined. I'm speaking for cakes that call for frostings of course. But yea, a cake should be delicious without frosting and frosting should make a cake even better.

 

[TeresaT]

What is "ermine" frosting. The only "ermine" I know is a weasel that makes a coat.

 

[IrishLass]

LOL I could be wrong, but I imagine the name has something to do with it being the traditional frosting used on 'velvet' cakes (think of the velvet and ermine cloaks worn by royalty in their official portraits). Well- that's my story and I'm sticking to it! lol

The frosting goes by other names as well, such as 'cooked flour frosting' (doesn't sound as fancy as ermine), flour frosting, flour buttercream, roux frosting, heritage frosting, Mary Kay frosting, miracle frosting, war time cake icing, etc.. Everyone seems to know it by different names, but basically, it's a frosting made from a flour/milk roux base (instead of being egg-white based). Some people also call it 'faux whipped cream icing' because it has the texture of a whipped cream icing.


IrishLass

 

[Misschief]

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!:evil::evil::evil::evil:

My granddaughter.... she asked me for a lemon pound cake birthday cake because it doesn't have that thick layer of frosting, only a lemon glaze. Weird, I know!

 

[lisajudy2009]

royal icing sugar cookies

 

[BlackDog]

I don't in huge quantities. I like small, polite amounts on my cake thankyewverymuch or I'll end up scraping it all off.

Agreed! American cupcakeries are obsessed with these monstrosities covered in 3 inches of frosting and I find it disgusting. Even at weddings I end up scraping most of the frosting off the cake and giving it to my husband, the irrepressible sweets hound.

Misschief, that lemon cake with glaze sounds amazing!

 

[Susie]

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!:evil::evil::evil::evil:

Me. I don't like frosting.

 

[galaxyMLP]

I despise bad frosting. Like on cheap cakes. I can tolerate good frosting and I especially like cream based ones (ok, I guess that's not really frosting?) like whipped cream but thicker (cool whip?). I don't get the super sweet crazy cupcakes either. As an adult, I eat more frosting now than I did as a kid. I ALWAYS scraped off the frosting from birthday cakes or cupcakes when I was little. Most of the time I could pawn it off on someone else's plate!

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I've read somewhere that some organic powdered sugar is made with tapioca and that has some nifty advantages of the normal one from the store.

Good to know!

Woah woah WOAH!!! Are you telling me there is someone on this planet... WHO DOESN'T LIKE FROSTING?!?!

According to him, it's too sweet. Me, I don't understand the concept when it comes to desserts.

It came out adorable! How did the cake part of the cake come out without the food coloring? I confess I've never made a red velvet cake before, because the thought of all that red food coloring really bugs me out.

I was reading on some sites, though, how the 'original' red velvet cake wasn't actually red in color, but was only called 'red velvet' because it was in a class of cakes known in the 19th century as 'velvet' cakes- which were famous for their velvety texture that came from using buttermilk and baking soda- and that it was only tagged with the moniker 'Red' because instead of white sugar, it was made with brown sugar, which was known back then as 'red sugar'..... and that the cake did not actually become red in color until the 1930's when a food dye company used the cake as a way to boost their sales. I don't know enough about it to be able to confirm or deny the veracity of all that, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's how it all started out. lol If true- then I guess that what you made was an original red velvet cake.

My Easter noms were little strawberry ball-shaped cakes/truffles that I baked in my Nordicware 'cake pop' pans, then filled with a dollop of strawberry flavored Swiss meringue buttercream before dipping in dark chocolate. They came out really yummy. And I found a great way to give my buttercream an intense, authentic, natural strawberry flavor without resorting to chemical flavorings...by using freeze-dried strawberries that I pulverized to powder in my food processor (bought them at Wholefoods). I used a bit of the powder in my cake, too. I got the idea off of a few internet blogs, and oh my- it works awesome!!! My frosting tastes so good and bursting with fresh strawberry flavor that I'm tempted to eat a whole bowl of it all by itself. lol



Uh oh.....me....sometimes...... it all depends on the kind of frosting. The kind that I hate is the one known as 'American Buttercream, which is made with butter and lots of powdered sugar. Blech! The kinds that I really love are these: whipped cream frosting, Ermine frosting, and Swiss meringue buttercream.

IrishLass

Ask and ye shall receive! I took a picture of the cake itself, but phones can only upload one pic per post. It didn't really turn out red. Next time I'm planning on figuring out how beets were used to color it, before artificial dyes were used.

 

[Arimara]

I despise bad frosting. Like on cheap cakes. I can tolerate good frosting and I especially like cream based ones (ok, I guess that's not really frosting?) like whipped cream but thicker (cool whip?). I don't get the super sweet crazy cupcakes either. As an adult, I eat more frosting now than I did as a kid. I ALWAYS scraped off the frosting from birthday cakes or cupcakes when I was little. Most of the time I could pawn it off on someone else's plate!

Cream cheese makes a great frosting aka IT COUNTS!!! Cool whip, in my snobby opinion, is not fit for organic consumption. I HATE Cool Whip with a seething passion. Gimme the heavy cream, 1/4 cup of sugar, vanilla, and my whisk attachment for my SB any day. Sure, Cool Whip is already made but it tastes like ca-ca.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Cream cheese makes a great frosting aka IT COUNTS!!! Cool whip, in my snobby opinion, is not fit for organic consumption. I HATE Cool Whip with a seething passion. Gimme the heavy cream, 1/4 cup of sugar, vanilla, and my whisk attachment for my SB any day. Sure, Cool Whip is already made but it tastes like ca-ca.

I didn't know what to call it. I had the real stuff someone made from scratch once and I was like "what is this amazingness?" And they told me "it's just cool whip" and I'm like "no, this is good. It can't be!" Then they told me they made it from scratch with heavy cream. I just don't know what it's actually called other than cool whip and apparently neither did they. It was flipping amazing on her cupcakes though. Loads better than regular frosting IMO.

 

[IrishLass]

Ask and ye shall receive! I took a picture of the cake itself, but phones can only upload one pic per post. It didn't really turn out red. Next time I'm planning on figuring out how beets were used to color it, before artificial dyes were used.

I was reading in the comments section under the Alton Brown Red Velvet Cake recipe, and I saw that a lady wrote in about how she got a red cake by using just a teaspoon of the food coloring (instead of the whole ounce called for), and subbing out some of the flour for powdered beetroot. Sounds like it might be worth a try to nix the food coloring altogether and just try using powdered beetroot.

I didn't know what to call it. I had the real stuff someone made from scratch once and I was like "what is this amazingness?" And they told me "it's just cool whip" and I'm like "no, this is good. It can't be!" Then they told me they made it from scratch with heavy cream. I just don't know what it's actually called other than cool whip and apparently neither did they. It was flipping amazing on her cupcakes though. Loads better than regular frosting IMO.

LOL That gave me a good giggle. I agree, the real stuff is 'flipping amazing'. In regards to Cool Whip, I'm with Arimara..... Cool Whip = ca-ca. LOL Give me real whipped cream any day. Real whipped cream frosting is awesome.


IrishLass

 

[Arimara]

I didn't know what to call it. I had the real stuff someone made from scratch once and I was like "what is this amazingness?" And they told me "it's just cool whip" and I'm like "no, this is good. It can't be!" Then they told me they made it from scratch with heavy cream. I just don't know what it's actually called other than cool whip and apparently neither did they. It was flipping amazing on her cupcakes though. Loads better than regular frosting IMO.

Silly Galaxy, call it whipped cream. :mrgreen: Homemade or from scratch can accompany it but calling it cool whip is like calling a pepsi a "coke". People around you may know what you mean but some of us, like yours truly, will think of the brand. So I apologize for the mini rant and I do agree whipped cream, from scratch, is pure deliciousness (when my daughter isn't eating it and lets me have some with my chai).