Something was going on with Blogger yesterday and this didn't post as scheduled. Hopefully it works now..
I am SO excited to share today's feature Friday. My dear friend Kate made incredible food for her sons birthday party, and I get to share the result. I LOVE the cake...she is so talented and makes neat cakes every year for her boys. Enjoy!
Yes, the cake is edible! Except I did cheat by inserting a floral wire into the large free-standing chainsaw handle since there was no way the fondant was going to support its own weight at that thickness. But yes, it is real homemade cake covered with homemade frosting. The cake recipe is from the spring 2002 issue of Martha Stewart Baby.
One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 C. all-purpose flour
3 C. sugar
1 T. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
3 lrg. eggs
1 1/2 C. warm water
1 1/2 C. buttermilk
3/4 C. vegetable oil
1 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9"x13" baking pan (I use the nonstick with flour for baking aerosol spray). Line bottom with parchment paper; butter paper and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess (again I use the spray). Set aside.
2. In a bowl mix together first six ingredients.
3. Add last five ingredients to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed (I use a hand-held electric beater.) until smooth, about 3 minutes.
4. Pour batter into prepped pan. Bake until tester inserted in middle comes out clean and cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes before unmolding. Invert onto wire rack and reinvent to prevent splitting. Cool completely before frosting or storing in fridge or freezer.
This is a nice moist, dense cake that holds together well. It is the only recipe I ever use for shaped cakes. It makes a very deep 9"x13" and for this party I got the one-layer small 6" round and the entire chainsaw out of a single recipe. I used a basic buttercream frosting for the crumb coat and mixed up a couple batches of the MM Fondant Icing Recipe , found here
http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htmalong with lots of tips on how to use the fondant. Fondant is a rolled frosting for those that are unfamiliar to it. It gives cakes that coveted perfectly smooth and flawless finish. It is a dream to work with!
I used pictures of several different chainsaw/log cakes that I found online as inspiration as well as one of my husband's real "live" chainsaws as a model. From there I basically just wing it. My cake creation sessions always extend into the wee hours of the morning and are always accompanied by *high* levels of stress. I never know exactly what the finished product will be but then in less than 24 hours from completion the whole thing gets a knife taken to it, is hacked into squares and everyone eats it so I try to remind myself of that when I'm working on it! In case you're wondering, Malachi let me know that the pics I was working off of were "a lot better" than my finished cake.
Also on the menu:
Venison hot dogs
Homemade vegetarian baked beans
Man Log (mine was a combination of a couple recipes but you can find one here www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/ )
Sesame cheese log ( I used an adaptation of this recipe www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Smoky-Sesame-Cheese-Log ) with carrot sticks and broccoli florets
Ants on a log (you know, celery, PB, raisins)
Watermelon & muskmelon
Peanut Butter Logs
Muddy logs ( pretzel rods dipped/rolled in different chocolate varieties and ground flax seed meal)
Fresh-squeezed lemonade
What a happy Birthday boy!
Wow, What a party! I wish I could have been there!
If YOU have a project or recipe that you want to share send it my way. It can be something you are also posting on your blog, or just pictures you took of something.
