Cake Class #6 -- Marble Cake

Cake Class #6 is more accurately known as Advanced Cake Decorating Class #1.  But that didn’t fit as nicely into the sequence of titles I already had going here, so Cake Class #6 was born.  Each class in the advanced series focuses on a different “advanced” technique, and the first one was airbrushing.  FYI, airbrushing = fun!

For this class we were supposed to design a cake that looks like an outdoor scene, and I just happened to know someone who was jonesing for an ocean-themed cake, and I’m not one to pass up a willing cake recipient these days.  Seriously.  I generally have a lot of cake, and it is absolutely not allowed to sit around within my reach.

This ocean cake was going to be headed toward the perpetually open and eager mouths of first-graders, so I decided to forego the cake I really wanted to make (orange chiffon) and instead make a more kid-friendly cake: marble.

And lucky for me, I recently discovered my grandmother’s old Betty Crocker Cookbook

It has been thoroughly loved

Unfortunately, the first few pages, which would normally include publishing information, are mysteriously missing, leaving me only to guess at how old it is.  But judging from pages like these,

the ingredients and spellings, and my Grandma’s age, I’d say this is from the early 50s or late 40s.  And let me just tell you: your assumption that because this is the Betty Crocker Cookbook it must be absolutely full of dessert and baking recipes?  Totally correct.  At least half of this thing is full of breads (both yeast and quick), cakes, cookies, frostings, pies, and other desserts.  I almost cried, it was so beautiful.

So I found a marble cake recipe and baked the heck out of it.

Dear Betty Crocker,

Please don’t sue me for reproducing your recipe without your expressed written consent.

Love, Me

Ahem.

Here’s what you need.

Sugar, vanilla, eggs, shortening, baking powder, milk, salt, and all-purpose flour.  Oh, and semi-sweet chocolate.  Which didn’t make the photo.  It was running late.

First, cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, preferably room temperature, one at a time until blended.

Then sift together your flour, baking powder, and salt.

Make sure to measure your flour correctly:  scoop,

and level.

I sifted my flour twice since I was using all-purpose instead of cake flour.

Then add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with a combination of milk and vanilla (warning: the milk/vanilla mixture is going to smell really good.  Don’t taste it! Vanilla extract is not sweetened and not nearly as delicious as it smells).

Dry….

and wet.

And back and forth.

Then scoop out about half the batter and reserve it, because you’re going to turn the other half into chocolate batter.

Get a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave the chocolate just until melted and smooth.

*Zap*

And don’t you dare lick that spoon.  Nope.  Don’t even think about it.

Mix that chocolate along with baking soda and milk into the reserved cake batter.

Then take your greased cake pans and spoon globs of each type of cake batter alternately in the pan.

Then take a butter knife or small spatula and swirl the batters together until marble-y enough for your liking.

There. Marble-y.

Then bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

And voila!

Marble cake

Now to fill and stack.  I had some extra chocolate frosting and mini marshmallows laying around, and I decided they would make a pretty kid-friendly (and delicious) combination for a filling.

What do you think, more marshmallows?

More marshmallows.

Then stack.

Then frost.  I had to use just plain white because I was decorating.

And because I was doing an ocean cake, I just had to pick up these adorable little candy shells from the cake shop.

Then I mounded up some cupcakes to make an island and frosted that, and the teacher helped me make frosting waves.

Then came airbrushing!  Which was amazingly fun.  I might be addicted.  The gun had to be wrenched from my hand before I painted the walls.

Don’t worry, it gets better.  This is just my cake’s awkward “in between” phase.

It just needed a little sand and sea life.

And palm trees.

And a mermaid.

And a pink octopus, of course.

And seashells.

And a hungry and sugar-crazed first grade class to eat it and squeal over it.  Children are good at eating and squealing in general.

And there is my ocean cake.  Thank you.  I’ll be here until Thursday.

Readyyyy….bake!

SWB

Betty Crocker Marble Cake

2/3 c. shortening

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 c sifted cake flour or 2 1/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 c. milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Sift together dry ingredients, and combine milk with vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately to egg mixture.  Reserve half the batter and add to the remaining half:

2 oz. melted semisweet chocolate

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp. milk

Beat to combine.  Plop yellow and chocolate cake batters alternately in greased cake pans and swirl with a butter knife.  Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.