Holiday Snowflake Cake Recipes

SNOWFLAKE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl, combine the egg whites, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with egg white mixture, beating well after each addition., Pour 2 cups batter into each of four greased and floured 6-in. round baking pans. Pour 3 cups batter into each of four greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. For 6-in. pans, bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For 9-in. pans, bake at 350° for 27-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Smaller cake pans have a deeper fill and need to bake longer.) Cool the cakes for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For filling: In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually whisk in coconut milk and cream until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. , Transfer to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature. Cover surface of filling with waxed paper; refrigerate until cooled. Stir in coconut., For frosting: In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth., To assemble cake: Level cake tops if necessary. Place a 9-in. cake on a serving plate; spread with 1-1/4 cups filling. Top with second 9-in. cake; spread top with 3/4 cup frosting. Insert four 2-3/4-in. wooden dowels 1-2 in. apart into center of cake to support the next layers. , Place third 9-in. cake on an 8-in. cardboard circle; place over cake on platter. Spread with 1-1/4 cups filling. Top with remaining 9-in. cake. Frost top and sides of cake with about 2 cups frosting, forming a crumb coating. Roll out 1-1/4 pounds of fondant into a 21-in. circle. Drape over cake and gently smooth, working from the center. Trim ends. Insert four 2-3/4-in. dowels 1 to 2 in. apart into center of cake. Set aside., On a work surface, place a 6-in. cake on a 5-in. cardboard circle. Spread with 1 cup filling; top with second 6-in. cake. Spread top with 1/2 cup frosting. Insert remaining dowels 1 to 2 in. apart into center of cake. Place third 6-in. cake on remaining cardboard circle and position on dowels; spread with 1 cup filling. Top with remaining cake. Frost top and sides of cake with about 1-1/4 cups frosting. Roll out 1-1/4 pounds of fondant into an 18-in. circle. Drape over cake and gently smooth, working from the center. Trim ends. Gently place 6-in. layer cake on 9-in. layer cake., Roll out remaining fondant to an 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with snowflake cookie cutters. Reroll scraps if desired. Place glitter in a small bowl. Press one side of each snowflake into glitter. With a paintbrush, brush vanilla over plain sides of snowflakes; secure onto cake. , In a small bowl, beat food coloring and remaining frosting until smooth. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag; insert pastry tip. Fill with blue frosting; pipe desired design over cake. Decorate with rock candy. Refrigerate leftovers.

SNOWFLAKE CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Linethe bottom of each pan with waxed or parchment paper. Grease and flourthe top side of the paper, and set aside.2. TO MAKE THE CAKE: Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda,and salt, then lightly whisk and set aside.3. In a stand mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy,about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until light and nearly white, about5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated,scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beatin the vanilla until blended. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk,in several additions, and beat until smooth and just blended.Scrape the sides and bottom.4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks just form. Gentlystir one third of the whites into the batter to lighten it. Fold in the remainingegg whites until just incorporated and no large white streaks of eggwhite remain.5. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, using a spatula to evenlyspread the batter. Gently rotate the pans to settle and level the batter. Bakeuntil the cakes begin to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted inthe center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let the layers cool in theirpans. Gently loosen the edges with a thin knife before inverting the layersonto wire racks. Let the cakes cool thoroughly before carefully peeling offthe paper. Cool completely before frosting, about 3 hours.6. TO MAKE THE SNOWFLAKES: Line a baking sheet with foil. Put the chocolate intoa resealable plastic bag and immerse the bag in hot water until the chocolatemelts. Dry the bag, then snip off a small piece from one corner. Pipeas many 2-inch snowflakes onto the foil as possible, and decorate thepoints with silver dragées, if desired. Place the sheet of snowflakes in thefreezer until the cake is ready to decorate.7. TO MAKE THE FROSTING: In a stand mixer set on low speed, beat the butter,powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt until the sugar is moist. Slowlyincrease the speed to medium-high, scraping down the sides and bottom ofthe bowl as necessary. Beat until light and creamy, about 1 1/2 minutes.8. TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Place a dollop of frosting in the middle of the servingplatter. Place the bottom layer of the cake on the platter, top sidedown. Using a narrow metal spatula, spread a third of the frosting over thebottom layer. Place the remaining layer on top. Spread the rest of thefrosting over the top and sides of the cake. Remove the snowflakes fromthe freezer and gently peel off the foil. Be careful-these flakes are fragile.(Don't worry if some of the tips break or chip in a snow flurry, they'llstill look good.) Cover the top and sides of the cake with snowflakes.9. Chill the cake for an hour to set the frosting and snowflakes. If you areserving the cake on the day it is made, keep it at a cool room temperatureafter chilling. To cut, use a sharp, thin-bladed knife. Dip the knife into hotwater before cutting to prevent the frosting from sticking. Insert the pointof the knife into the cake's center. Cut, using an up-and-down motion,pulling the knife toward you.VARIATIONCupcakes are easy to eat, easy to make, and easy to serve to a crowd.Make these Candy Cane Cupcakes for your nextparty or potluck and watch them disappear faster than a snowflake. Followthe main recipe, lining standard muffin cups (about 30 cups, or bake thecupcakes in batches) with foil or paper liners. Bake until the cupcake topsare pale gold and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to24 minutes. Makes about 30 cupcakes.For the cupcake frosting, follow the main frosting recipe, substituting 1/2teaspoon pure peppermint extract and 21/2 teaspoons vanilla for the 1tablespoon pure vanilla extract. Immediately after frosting the cupcakes,sprinkle the frosting with coarsely crushed candy canes (you'll need about6 large candy canes).From Holiday Baking. Text copyright © 2005 by Sara Perry. Photographs copyright © 2005 by Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.

HOLIDAY SNOWFLAKE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter until butter melts. Combine flour and baking powder; add to egg mixture alternately with milk mixture. Beat until well mixed. Add vanilla. Fold in nuts if desired. , Pour into 3 greased 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, in a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil; cook over medium-high heat until a thermometer reads 244° (firm-ball stage). , Meanwhile, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl on high speed until foamy. Slowly pour the hot sugar syrup over the egg whites while beating continuously. Continue beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes. Add vanilla; beat until frosting cools slightly and reaches desired consistency., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup coconut. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cakes with remaining frosting; sprinkle with remaining coconut.