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Pretty
up
that cake! | 1
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5
continued from page 1
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Step 2) Shape.
Dream-cakes are symmetrical and
have perfectly flat tops. In real life, cakes have a tendency to develop
a rounded top as they rise in the oven, the end result being that they
resemble a gentle hill. It’s an easy enough problem to fix, however,
since all you have to do is slice off the top, as follows:
a) Remove your cake from your
pan, and set it right-side up on the counter.
b) Using the longest knife you've got (bread knives work well) slowly
slice off just the very top, in a gentle sawing motion. Put your free
hand on top of the cake to steady it (be careful not to slice yourself!)
The cut should be about halfway between the top edge of the cake and the
highest point of the cake; this will be just enough to more-or-less
level the surface without sacrificing too much cake. Squat down
eye-level with the cake to see where you ought to cut. You can use
toothpicks to mark your place, if you like.
c) Having lopped off the raised
portion, the top is now scrap. Pig out! It’s the perfect opportunity
to check how your cake turned out, and if you're giving your concoction
away, this may be your only chance. This extra bit of cake is also good
for distracting any "vultures" that may be hanging around,
waiting for you to leave the room so they can pounce – toss them a
scrap and you should be able to keep them at bay. You may also want to
keep some of the cake scrap to patch up any imperfections (small missing
bits) in your cake; you’ll be able to use some icing, later, to sort
of cement it in place.
Step 3) Construction.
Layer cakes should be built by placing one layer top-down
on the plate, then stacking the second layer top up, after you've added
plenty of icing, of course. The frosting you spread on top of the first
layer will squoosh out somewhat after you add the second layer and ice
the top, so it need not reach the edges; leaving a half an inch margin
is fine. You may wish, if your cut wasn't too straight, to put the cake
together before you fill the middle with icing, and rotate the top
around until you discover the position that makes the most even-looking
cake. Square cakes can be made using the same method. For a rectangular
cake, you can use a 9"x13" pan. Cut it in half after
trimming, and put the first half top down, with the cut side facing one
direction, second half top up, cut side facing opposite direction.
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