Memorial Day weekend was extremely hectic this year. My uncle turned 60 and threw a big clam/lobster-bake bash at my parents’ house, then we celebrated my mom’s birthday the next evening!
To top off the biggest meal I have ever experienced in my life, I made my uncle’s birthday cake.
Tip #1: Be wary of trying new recipes in a public setting
I made this frosting based on rave reviews from my sister. It was a failure, as it’s not meant for decorating (other reviews warned me, but I tried anyway). It was super soft and impossible to pipe. I also found the flavor and texture lacking but that was my fault, substituting half of the butter with shortening.
Tip #2: Value the power of cookie borders
My cake design included a pirouline cookie border, so neatness was salvaged and it ended up looking quite trendy against the messy icing.
Tip #3: It IS possible to put fresh fruit in a cake
I was very nervous putting fruit inside a cake – it can run, turn brown, or sometimes even mold. I waited until just a couple hours before to assemble. Squeezing lemon juice on the bananas and then nestling them in the cream was extremely effective.
Tip #4: Syrup ahead of time, or figure out a better wrapping method
The cake was a bit dry – my parents’ oven is broken so I had to bake the layers and bring them over 2 days ahead of time. I should have poured the simple syrup on before wrapping the layers in plastic and foil instead of waiting until the day I assembled the cake. I still haven’t quite figured out a good way to do this.
16″ yellow cake filled with strawberries and bananas nestled on vanilla pastry cream
Nice salvaging of the cake. Sorry the frosting didn’t work out, but it *is* yummy on cupcakes! I still have some in the freezer and defrost it whenever I want some. It does separate a little. I’m not sure how to prevent the cake dryness over 2 days other than getting the parents a new oven.
That cake looks amazingly delicious