Here we are in the throws of summer, and of course many of us are working our butts off to have that hot summer bod, but at the same time, many of us have some new found free time and will be baking our butts off this summer! Today we are talking about the later!
Jessica sent us her Pin Tale about her experience with Ombre' Cake, and her tips on how to make this a Pin Win!!
The Original
The original pin is a fun Strawberry Cake that will surely be the life of any event!
Those colors just scream "I'm fancy!!!!" !
The Pin Win/Pin Tale
Her is Jessica's tale about her lovely Ombre' Cake!
"So I saw this pin and loved how simple and pretty the pink layers looked. It seemed simple enough and with enough wow factor to make it seem like I did a lot more work than actually done. Decided to recreate it myself as a present for Mother's Day to the ladies in my family.
Mixed up the entire two boxes with a few extra tablespoons of water (makes the cake moister, almost uncooked in the middle) and divided up into three bowls. Used red food coloring, 12 drops in the first bowl, 7 in the second and just 3 drops in the third.
I used cheap aluminum tins, round 8 inch cake pans from the local supermarket. To get the cakes out easier, I sprayed sheets of tinfoil with Pam and laid it around the edge of the cake tin so I could lift it out when it was ready.
When my first and darkest pink cake came out I was a little worried because it wasn't as dark as I had hoped for. The two lighter layers of the cake were very close in color and I was worried it wouldnt show as well. My first layer was more of a hot pink, the second a rose and the third barely pink. Next time I would definitely use a little more food coloring for the layers.
The cakes themselves came out bloated and with a weird brown baked layer on both sides, probably from my super old oven. Luckily, they were thick enough that I could shave off layers from both sides of the cake to make somewhat round cakes that were fairly even in thickness. Once I had trimmed them down I layered them without icing and used a bread knife to make the round shape even.
Used a whipped frosting made from cool whip, instant vanilla pudding and vanilla extract. Once I got the frosting on the first layer of cake it was easy as the thick frosting covered any holes and messes in the cakes. When I got the last layer on top, it looked surprisingly good! A few chunks of cake got torn but the frosting covered it up nicely.
Later at my mom's house, we cut into the cake and I was pleased to find that the inside looked amazing! I didn't think it would turn out that nice. Everyone enjoyed the taste and I would absolutely make this cake again! It was much easier than I thought. Next time I want to make the frosting on the outside a little more fancy to complement the ombre layers."
So there you have it, the key with these ombre' cakes is LOTS of food coloring. I will add that the single drop liqiud coloring can make things have a a strange taste if there is too much coloring in something. If you are going for strong vibrant colors I would suggest using a gel coloring. You can find these at a bake shop, Micheals or Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section (perhaps even Wal-Mart? Don't quote me on that, but in the cake sections by the crafts? Walton brand I would guess).
Did anyone see the post we had a few months ago on this? The results were similar, and the fix is similar, you cna find that post here!
I LOVE ombre', I don't know how I got sucked into this trend but I can't get enough!
Anyone have any tips to make this an even greater success? Or have any tips on icing that will blow our minds?!
Share them below!!
Happy baking Pinstrosipeeps!!
This is a beautiful cake. And you can definitely buy gel coloring at Wal-Mart, but in the cake decorating section in crafts, not the baking aisle.
ReplyDeleteThe key to these cakes, and rainbow cakes, is to use gel food colors. They come out much more saturated, not pastel, and they don't change the consistency of the batter.
ReplyDeleteTo get white cake to be white, only use egg whites when making the cake. The yolks will tinge the cake w/ a yellow tone.
ReplyDeleteWalmart does indeed have gel colorings in their cake section. They carry Wilton brand. :-) I prefer Americolor, though, because you can control how many drops you put in. Wilton is a little harder to use, in a case like this, if you want accurate. This cake is lovely!
ReplyDeleteHer cake came out great! I wonder how it would do, using the strawberry flavoured cake mix, which is already pink in colour? Then it might not take as much food colouring for the layers.
ReplyDeleteI love it when things work like they're supposed to! May I suggest combining it with this pin http://www.bronzebudgetbride.com/magazine/read/recipe-for-making-a-box-cake-taste-homemade_2715.html ? I used it last night to make my fiance's (late) birthday cake and while I wouldn't quite say it tasted 100% homemade, it was awesomely rich and delicious.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Canada and I have seen the Wilton paste colours there, in exactly the section you described. They are only about $2 and I am told that they "last forever". (I haven't bought any yet, myself, so I can't vouch for that statement)
ReplyDeleteJessica, your cake looks super!!!! And the icing looks great. My cakes are always covered in lost of sprinkles, they hide my poor decorating skills nicely! Thanks for the inspiration!
I've seen the gel at walmart but for the life of me couldn't find traditional food coloring there. I've never much liked the gel... I guess I'm too old to learn these new tricks. Nice to see someone's cake finally wasn't a total pinstrosity!
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure that "throe" (not throw) is the word you want. A "throe" is a sharp anguished spasm or a condition of struggle. Most people aren't in anguish in the summer. Well, unless you live in Arizona and it's 122 deg in the shade!:)
ReplyDeleteThe tip I have seen is to colour the whole bowl of cake mix with a tiny dab of colouring paste, remove 2/3, colour that with another dab of paste, remove half and colour that with more. That way you KNOW that they are different colours.
ReplyDeleteBulk Barn also carries Wilton cake supplies.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to not have the dark brown edges (and a more even top) get some of the cake baking insulating strips. I have no idea where you buy them (I have one of my mom's ones, that's probably older than me), but they're long strips of an insulating material, and it keeps the edges from burning, and slows down how they bake, so they aren't done as long before the centre, which makes for a more even top.
Target has gel food coloring, too.
ReplyDeleteI made this one with concentrated raspberry paste as coloring, the ombre effect is the same but the taste is much more better.
ReplyDelete