|
November 15, 2011 - Christmas Gingerbread Man Cake
Click here for short instructions
Is it getting to be that time of year again? That's what I hear. Get ready for a massive amount of Christmas cakes! This blog should be especially interesting for those curious about the Cake-Shaping Strip, as I've included many more process pictures than usual. But first, the cake:
To make this cake, you'll need a Cake-Shaping Strip (look here about how to make one), heavy-duty aluminum foil, a sheet pan, prepared cake batter (see the Gingerbread Cake recipe below or use about 2 boxes of cake mix), some frosting (use the Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting recipe below or use 1/2 of a 16-oz. container of white frosting), and some sprinkles.
First, make a Cake-Shaping Strip as described here using ten sushi-mat segments. Line a sheet pan with 2 sheets of aluminum foil. Shape the strip into a shape of a gingerbread man. You can use a cut-out shape to assist you in your strip shaping, as shown below.
Wrap the bottom foil sheets around the strip, tearing it where needed to wrap it.
And push small loosely-packed balls of foil along the bottom outer perimeter wherever you think that the batter might leak due (e.g., where you tore the foil). Essentially, just add foil however you need to fully wrap around the bottom of the strip.
Now prepare your cake batter. You can make the batter using about two boxes of cake mix or you can use the recipe below. It's good. I promise.
Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients:
2 boxes of yellow cake mix
1 3/4 cup molasses
4 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat all of the ingredients together.
3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until done.
*****
Mmm ... cake batter. And the strip-shaped cake pan is containing it well.:
After pulling it out from the oven, let it cool ...
Unwrap the bottom foil layer ...
And carefully separate the strip from the cake.
Slide the bottom foil from under the cake, and clean up the pan a bit:
Decorating couldn't be easier. Since you'll have so much extra time, let's start with a home-made (but easy, five-minute) frosting.
Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions:
1. Beat all ingredients together using an electric mixer.
2. Prepare your piping bag.
3. Spoon the frosting into the piping bag and refrigerate until it reaches a desired consistency.
*****
Back to that couldn't-be-easier decorating .... I wasn't kidding. Just pipe on some decorations. Add some sprinkles too for extra fun.
|
