Anniversary Cake Recipes

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, 1/3 cup water, meringue powder and cream of tartar; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high for 7-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. (Keep icing covered at all times with a damp cloth to keep from drying out. If necessary to restore texture later, beat again on high speed. Prepare only half of the icing recipe if using store-bought candy roses or edible flowers to decorate.), ROSES: Divide icing in half; set half aside. If using store-bought roses, refer to photo for position and attach roses to top of cake using a dab of icing. If making icing roses, cut a hole in the corner of pastry or plastic bag; insert round tip # 12 and fill with remaining icing. Holding the bag straight up, pipe a dome-shaped mound or icing on the flower nail., With petal tip #103 and icing, hold pastry bag with narrow end farther away from the rose tip and turning the nail, pipe a row of three standing petals. Pipe a second row of petals, holding the narrow tip end at a greater angle. Repeat for a third row., Gently slide scissor ends underneath rose and remove it from nail to waxed paper; let dry completely. Repeat with remaining icing to make 20-22 roses. (Flowers can be made several weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container.), NUMERALS AND CAKE TOPPER: Set aside 1/2 cup of reserved icing. With round tip #4 and remaining reserved icing, pipe at least ten 3/4-in.-square "25"s, making sure to connect the two and five at the base of each., For cake topper, place pattern of your choice under waxed paper; tape both to work surface. Completely outline edges; let dry for 10 minutes. To reserved 1/2 cup icing, stir in remaining 2-3 teaspoons water to thin. Fill in outline of cake topper with thinned icing, using the same tip. Let dry completely, thin place in an airtight container to store before use., CAKE: Line two greased 12-in. round baking pans with parchment or waxed paper; grease and flour paper and set aside. In a bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Stir in additional cake ingredients based on the desired cake flavor. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., FROSTING: In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and confectioners' sugar until well combined. Beat in milk, vanilla and salt until mixture becomes light and fluffy., ASSEMBLING: Split each cooled cake into two horizontal layers. Place bottom layer on serving plate; spread with a thin layer of frosting. Top with 3/4 cup filling of your choice. Spread a thin later of frosting over the bottom of next layer; place cake, frosted side down, over filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer., Set aside 3 cups frosting. Tint remaining frosting with color of your choice; set aside 1/2 cup. Spread remaining tinted frosting over top and sides of cake. Place reserved tinted frosting in a pastry or plastic bag with round tip #4. Pipe lettering and outlines over cake topper. Let dry., FINISHING: Place reserved white frosting in a pastry bag with star tip #21. Pipe eight vertical columns around sides of cake. With the same tip, pipe a shell border around top and bottom of cake., Just before serving, use small dabs of frosting to attach numerals between columns and roses at top of columns. Stand cake topper up in center of cake; continue to hold while piping two large dollops of frosting on either side of cake topper. Using leaf tip #69, pipe leaves around cluster of roses. (Dried decorations will collapse upon refrigeration. Remove to save.)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Brush half the melted butter onto bottoms and sides of 2 (9-inch) round pans. Cover bottoms with waxed paper; brush with remaining melted butter.
• Sift flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and cut-up butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
• Beat sugar and eggs in medium bowl with mixer 2 min. or until slightly thickened and pale yellow in color. Add chocolate mixture; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Add buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. (If batter is not completely blended at this point, mix by hand with rubber spatula until mixture is well blended.) Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake 30 to 34 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool cakes in pans 5 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; remove and discard waxed paper. Cool cakes completely. Fill and frost with BAKER'S 225th Anniversary Fudge Icing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
• Put butter and 2 cups sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in egg yolks, 1 at a time, and zest. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk. Transfer batter to a large bowl.
• Put egg whites into the clean bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until foamy. Add a pinch of salt; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat until stiff peaks form.
• Fold one-third of the egg-white mixture into batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture until just combined; do not overmix.
• Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until cake is golden and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Invert onto rack. Remove parchment; reinvert. Let cool completely. Cakes can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, up to 1 day.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8-inch) square cake pans with shortening or cooking spray.
• Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 8-inch cakes. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around side of pans to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• On serving plate, place 1 cake layer. Spread with about 1/2 cup white frosting. Top with second layer. Frost sides and top. Using black decorating icing, pipe desired designs on sides and top of cake. Place candles on cake. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Steps:

• Trim tops of cakes level. Cut each cake in half horizontally to create 2 layers.
• Frost layers and assemble tiers: Set one 10-inch cake layer on corresponding-size square foam board. Brush top of cake with a generous amount of lemon syrup, soaking layer. Pipe a buttercream border around top edge using a plain round tip (such as Ateco #11). Spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of lemon curd over soaked cake. Repeat for second and third cake layers. For final cake layer, brush top with syrup. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over top and sides of tier. Refrigerate until buttercream is set, about 30 minutes. Spread another thin layer of buttercream on top and sides; refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. Repeat with 6- and 8-inch cake layers.
• Reinforce tiers: Insert a plastic straw vertically through center of 10-inch tier. Mark top of cake on straw; remove, and trim to mark. Trim 4 more straws to this length. With a toothpick, trace a circle, 8 inches in diameter, on top of tier, holding an empty cake pan above cake as a guide. Insert straws into tier, arranging 1 in center and the rest evenly spaced around circle. In the same way, insert 4 straws into 8-inch tier, using a 6-inch cake pan as a guide for the circle.
• Stack tiers: Center 10-inch tier on a cake stand. Center and carefully set 8-inch tier on top of 10-inch tier, and then 6-inch tier on top of 8-inch tier. Use a star tip (such as Ateco #20) to pipe a decorative ruffled border around bottom of each tier. Place lemon toppers on top tier. Serve cake with lemon slices.