The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Lydia Houghton, winner chosen via Random.org. Thanks to all who entered!

My friend Amanda wrote a book!

You may know Amanda from the blog I Am Baker and as the most creative cake decorator extraordinaire. For years now, she’s been drawing us in on her blog with unique cake decorating techniques and enticing recipes. Well, now, she has a book and it’s going to knock  your socks off! Seriously, just look at the amazing Candle Cake below… have you ever seen a more beautiful cake?

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Armed with just about every tip and tool and gadget you need to decorate a cake (because, you know… if you are going to pick up a hobby, you must own everything there is to own in association with it, right?) I went to my first class. The class was taught by a lady named Millie. Millie seemed 800 years old and had been decorating wedding cakes and party cakes professionally for 50 years. She was about as sweet as they come.

Cake decorating did not come easy for me. I even struggled with just getting the base frosting on the cake without getting crumbs in the frosting. Millie taught me well though, and I kept plugging through the class, bringing home cakes I wasn’t totally embarrassed to show everyone. Then, the final two classes came about and we set out to learn how to make roses and flowers. Patiently, Millie helped me, guiding me with each stroke of my tip… and with each completed flower, I looked down and would see a head of cabbage. Not a rose, not a flower… a giant head of cabbage. For the life of me, I could NOT master creating frosting flowers. I tried, Millie tried with me, and it just wasn’t happening. The things I were creating could barely even pass as a head of cabbage if I wanted to make some kind of produce related theme cake (and there is such a thing, if you were wondering)!

My cake decorating skills have not improved, at all. I can bake the cake, I can most certainly eat the cake, but I can not decorate the cake past slapping some frosting on and adding sprinkles. My kids don’t seem to mind. Thank goodness I’ve raised them to have low expectations of their mom 😉

Jacob’s 8th birthday was this past week and he asked for wedding cake cupcakes (aka the kind of cake we eat at weddings…white with white frosting). I gladly obliged, pulling out Millie’s recipe which is the best I’ve had. It does use a boxed cake mix but trust me on this one… you will be hard pressed to find a white cake with a better flavor or crumb.

Oh – and the picture above of the wrecked cupcake? You can find the back story on that on my Flickr page!

Millie’s White Wedding Cake

• 2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 cups sour cream
• 8 large egg whites

Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until fully incorporated.

Pour into greased and floured cake pans or cupcake liners, filling each slightly over half full.

Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.

Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done.

Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.

(For cupcakes, I bake at 325 for approximately 18 minutes… test with a toothpick to make sure though!)

I used this recipe on Recipezaar for the frosting – yum!

The post Cake Decorating Woes (Recipe – Millie’s White Wedding Cake) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Amy stopped by yesterday to deliver the cupcakes I had ordered to support the cause. Since I knew Amy’s idea was very popular and she was going to get a lot of orders, I expected to have just very simple, frosted cupcakes arrive. When she showed me what she had made, I was floored. Aren’t these the most beautiful cupcakes ever? Of course, I had to get my camera out and photograph them right away! I am so impressed with Amy’s attention to detail, her delicious cupcakes, and her willingness to put in so much time and effort to help Ann and her family kick cancer in the teeth. She has truly inspired me to try and figure out what I can do to lend a hand to Ann’s family.

If you are local and are interested in ordering some of Amy’s delicious cupcakes, you have until the 7th of August to do so. Please send an email to aloehr4 <at> kc.rr.com and mention you read about this on Dine & Dish. If you are from out of town and are simply interested in donating money to help the Schierts family, contact me and I will get you in touch with the appropriate place to do that. There is no one more deserving of this kind of generousity on this planet than the Schierts family… I can promise you that!

Helen from Tartelette is the Snapshot Spotlight guest over at Culinary Snapshot. Make sure to check out her tips and tricks for taking great food photos!

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