Art Deco Cake

 The Art.
    Each year, one of my classiest friends hosts a Repeal of Prohibition Party. We all dress in 30's-inspired garb, make some Sidecars, and get slightly "swacked," as they would say. I'm not what you would call a master mixologist, so I mixed something up in my kitchen instead. I was inspired by the art deco architecture of the 1930's, and came up with this tiered Art Deco Cake. I discovered that tiered cakes can be fun, as long as you put a little planning into it. Taking extra time to ensure that all your edges are squared away really pays off here. Covering the cake with purchased fondant gives it smooth, clean lines, and I attached a feather half hackle on top for extra fancy.

The Science.
    This was my first tiered cake, and I wanted to make sure that I had nice, flat cake layers to stack up. As I've discussed before, some cakes tend to "crown" in the center, giving them a domed shape that is difficult to layer with. Crowning happens when the edges of the cake heat up faster than the center, so the water evaporates before the steam can help the edges rise. This can be alleviated by using light-colored cake pans, which absorb less heat in the oven. Some bakers swear by wrapping the sides of the cake pan with strips of cloth to insulate it, but that's a little too intense for me. I decided to try another tool at my disposal: the convection setting on my oven. This setting activates a fan within the oven that circulates the hot air, so the surface of the cake is exposed to more even temperatures. I tried convection baking this cake, and I was very pleased with the results. My cakes were nice and flat, and I didn't have uneven baking on the side of the cake that was near the oven wall. I guess you could say I'm a Convection Convert. (Ah! I'm hilarious!) Remember, if you find your cake layers have crowned despite your best efforts, you can always press them down as I show in the Fall Spice Cake post.

The Recipe.

Chocolate Cake:
    Preheat oven to 350°F. For the chocolate cake, make a double batch of the cake recipe from the Chocolate Turtle Cake post. Coat two 9x13 pans with baking spray and line with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake on center rack for 30 minutes, or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cakes on wire racks.
      To cut out the tiers, make three square stencils with cardstock. I made mine 6.5in, 4.5in, and 3in square. Use the stencils to cut three squares out of the cake layers with a sharp, serrated knife.

    Make a batch of vanilla buttercream icing, and use it to layer your cake tiers, as shown below. Place the largest tier on a cake board and cover it with icing. Following the instuctions from the Valentine Cake post, cover the bottom tier with rolled fondant. Repeat with the other two tiers, and carefully lay them on top, smoothing the fondant afterward.

     To make the black accents, I tinted the remaining fondant with Wilton Icing Colors Black by kneading it into the fondant. (I highly recommend wearing gloves for this, black fingernails are never becoming.) Then, roll the fondant out and cut strips for the cake, affixing them with buttercream. This is a good time for careful measuring, as well as artfully disguising any unsightly wrinkles or tears in the white fondant. You can get creative with any other accents you want to add. I chose to add a geometric fan shape to the bottom tier. Finally, I attached the feather accent (from Hobby Lobby) by cutting slits into the fondant on the top tier and inserting the half hackle into it.

    The cake was a great success at the party, and I was pleased with the way it turned out. Getting all of the edges straight proved to be more challenging here than with the rounded Valentine Cake I made previously, but nobody seemed to notice the uneven parts. Remember, you are your harshest critic and even if you don't think it looks perfect, everyone else will be impressed.

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

The Art.

    Happy Mardi Gras, everyone! I have a special treat for you today, in the spirit of fun and extravagance. When I was shopping for gold sprinkles for these cupcakes, I came across these amazing Wilton Colorburst Batter Bits. So, in keeping with the revelry of the Mardi Gras parade, I decided to put confetti in my cupcakes. I bought green, orange, and purple, then baked them into my yellow cake batter, to show off the colors. I really love how it turned out, especially after adorning my cake stand with coordinating beads.

The Science.

    Today, many people will be indulging themselves in all the foods they're giving up for Lent tomorrow (unless you're Greek Orthodox, in which case your fast started on Monday). Thus, the goal of these cupcakes is to be the last hurrah for all those pious souls who want to binge on their favorite sweets before Ash Wednesday. My decorating technique is exactly what is needed, apparently, as people are more likely to consume a higher number of sweets if there is a visual variety [1]. I guess they just have to taste them all to make sure they're equally good. Furthermore, making your foods look prettier makes them more appetizing to consumers, who clearly favor sensory appeal over other considerations, like price and nutrition [2]. Certainly, the entire experience of eating delicious foods--sight, smell, texture, taste--is alluring to everyone. Some research groups go as far to say that there is such a thing as "food addiction," saying that overindulging in naughty foods causes a brain response similar to drug addiction [3]. Of course, this is difficult to prove since we all need to eat. But, there is no denying that the experience of indulging in foods has a hold on all of us, which is why the greatest sacrifice we make for Lent is denying ourselves tasty cupcakes.

The Recipe.

    To make these cupcakes, click these links for the yellow cake cupcakes and vanilla buttercream icing recipes. Remember to fold the batter bits into your cake batter before pouring it into your cupcake pans. 

       To decorate these cupcakes, I took a similar approach as I did for the Quick Birthday Cupcakes, dying my icing three different colors and using different tips and patterns to create unique designs. I used Wilton Icing Colors Violet, Kelley Green, and Golden Yellow to tint my icing. 

I then piped the purple and green with 1M star tips, and the yellow with an 18 star tip. You can experiment with different colors and tips as you choose, to give your cupcakes your own flair. Of course, what Mardi Gras cupcakes would be complete without gold sugar sprinkles!

    These cupcakes are fancy inside and out, with festive frosting on top and colorful confetti on the inside. In case you're not giving up sweets for Lent, you can store these cupcakes at room temperature for a few days, or put them in the freezer until Lent is over. 

1.  Rolls, Barbara et al. "How sensory properties of foods affect feeding behavior." Physiology and Behavior, 1982. Vol. 29(3): pp 409-417.
2.   Jauregui-Lobera, I and Bolano Rios, P. "What motivates consumer's food choice?" Nutrición Hospitalaria, 2011. Vol. 26(6): pp 1313-1321.
3. Pandit, R et al. "Dietary Factors Affect Food Reward and Motivation to Eat." Obesity Facts, 2012. Vol. 20(2): pp 221-242.