Celebration Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of 3 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment. In a jug, whisk the eggs, yogurt and milk. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, using an electric hand whisk. When you have a light and fluffy mixture, add the flour, the liquid in the jug and the lemon zest. Mix again until smooth. Divide the cake mixture between the tins, level the surfaces and bake for 40 mins.
• Mix the lemon juice and elderflower cordial. When the cakes are cooked, poke all over the surface with a cocktail stick then spoon the lemon and elderflower syrup over the cakes. Leave to cool in the tins. Once cool, you can wrap in cling film and keep for 3 days before icing.
• To make the icing, beat the butter until smooth with an electric hand whisk. Add half the icing sugar, use a spatula to mash the mixture together (this will help to prevent an icing sugar cloud) then whisk again. Add the remaining icing sugar, cream cheese and lemon zest, mash again, then whisk again until smooth.
• Stack the cakes on a cake stand with plenty of icing between each layer. Pile most of the remaining icing on top, then use a palette knife to spread it across the top and down the sides, covering the cake in swirls (don't worry about it looking too perfect). Add the final bit of icing to the top and use it to cover any patches where the cake is poking through. Decorate with fresh flowers.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Pour batter into pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until blended. Add 1/4 cup liqueur and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
• Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with one-third of the frosting. Top with second layer. Frost side and top of cake with thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Frost cake with remaining frosting.
• Place chopped chocolate in small bowl. In small saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until bubbles form around edge. Pour warm cream over chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Stir with whisk until chocolate is melted. Add corn syrup and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes or until thickened.
• Pour glaze on top of cake, letting some glaze drip down side. Sprinkle almonds around edge of cake. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Bake a 1 1/2 batch of white cake in 2 buttered and paper-lined 10-inch pans. When cakes are cooled, peel off paper and position one layer right side up on a cardboard. Spread the layer with chocolate buttercream, then top with second layer upside down. Mask outside of cake with more buttercream, then press multicolored chocolate shavings made with milk and white chocolate against cake all around.

Steps:

• For the cake: Grease and flour 2 6-inch cake pans and 3 8-inch cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the egg whites until fluffy. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the sprinkles.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Bake the 6-inch pans for until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Bake the 8-inch pans until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove the cakes to wire racks to cool in the pans 5 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
• For the vanilla buttercream: Beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until combined. Add the cream, vanilla and salt and beat to a spreadable consistency. Tint some of the frosting with blue food coloring, if desired.
• Build the cake: Stack the 8-inch cakes with frosting spread between the layers. Stack the 6-inch cakes on top of the 8-inch ones and spread frosting between the layers. Frost the top and side of the cake. Decorate with confetti and/or blue sprinkles, if desired.

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake as package directs for 13x9 pan.
• Cool cake and leave in pan.
• Using a table-knife handle, poke holes throughout cake, about 1-inch apart and halfway to bottom.
• Combine Eagle Brand, orange juice concentrate and orange rind; mix well.
• Spoon small amount of mixture into each hole; spread remaining mixture evenly over top.
• Chill 3-4 hours.
• Just before serving, spread whipped cream or frosting over cake and garnish as desired as desired.

Steps:

• Sift flour with 3/4 cups sugar 4 times; set aside.
• With a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time.
• Beat well after each addition; continue to beat until stiff peaks form when beaters are raised out of mixture.
• With a rubber spatula, gently fold almond extract and vanilla into the beaten egg whites.
• Sprinkle about a quarter of the flour mixture evenly over the egg whites; fold in gently with a spatula, about 15 strokes. Repeat until all of the flour mixture and fold in the sprinkles with about 10 to 12 more strokes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F
• Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut through batter in pan with a narrow spatula or knife. With rubber spatula, spread batter to smooth the top and make sure batter is spread to touch the sides of the pan.
• Bake on a lower oven rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched with fingertip. Invert pan to cool completely, about 2 hours. Use a narrow spatula or knife to gently loosen cake from sides and center of the tube pan. Gently, grasping the center tube, lift cake out of pan. Use a narrow spatula or knife to loosen the cake from the bottom. Remove the cake from tube section and frost with a fluffy white frosting or serve with sweetened strawberries or other fruit.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare cake batter as directed on package; stir in nuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans. Bake 26 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Remove cakes from pans.
• Mix sour cream and milk until blended. Stir in caramel topping. Poke holes in warm cake layers with wooden skewer. Place 1 cake layer on plate; top with half the sour cream mixture. Spread with 1/4 cup COOL WHIP; cover with remaining cake layer. Drizzle with remaining sour cream mixture. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Frost top and side of cake with remaining COOL WHIP. Decorate with crushed candies.