Happy Birthday Rachael Ray!
On August 25th Rachael is celebrating her birthday. Her fun and loyal staff over at Everyday With Rachael Ray Magazine thought it would be neat to get the world involved!
If YOU would like to make her a cake click on her facebook page and just post it! It could be see by thousands of fans!
I have been wanting to make these birthday cookies into a cake forever.
They were so fun and easy and I love when my friends let me make them cookies!
I also thought it would be fun to make the actual cake a cherry cake too! So I tried the Maraschino Cherry Cake recipe from Cooks.com.
I actually followed the recipe ingredients and directions exactly.
Gotta tell ya... I could not even taste a hint of cherry in it. Now, we all know that my palette is far from refined, but I can pick up on subtle if I am really trying.
And I did try.
I closed my eyes and everything.
It tasted like a bland vanilla cake. Boo! Hiss! Wah.
For the frosting I used my favorite full fat buttercream of the moment.
Buttercream Frosting
71/2 - 8 cups of powder sugar (or a 2 lb. bag)
1 cup shortening
1-2 tsp vanilla (if making white frosting use clear vanilla)
1/2 -3/4 cup milk (I have also used whipping cream and whole milk)
Blend all ingredients on low until incorporated, then increase speed and blend for 1-3 minutes until reach desired consistency.
Seriously. That's how I do it. I am considering changing my blog name to "i am impatient baker".
One change that was a really welcome addition was adding a 1/2 cup of finely diced maraschino cherries to the center layer.
They saved the cake.
Subtle. Sweet. Bright obnoxious red and turquoise cake with a hint of cherry flavor.
Interesting fact: I don't like cherries.
If you have a good Cherry Cake recipe and want to share, feel free to point me in the right direction.
If you want to join me in a slice while I conduct a pity party, then please, pull up a chair. This could be an all-nighter.
***
I linked this to Tidymom's I'm Lovin It blog party! Stop on by!
I LOOOOOOOOOVE it!! Sersiously Amanda, this one is one of my favorite cakes you've made. Simple, yet gorgeous and you know i LOVE the colors!
Bummer on the recipe, I'll keep my eyes out for a cherry cake recipe.
Posted by: TidyMom | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:27 AM
hehe "I Am Impatient Baker" - we'd have to share that title! :-)
Posted by: Becki D | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:43 AM
Love this!!! I must try it!!! :) thinking about a good chocolate cake, like an inside out chocolate covered cherry cake. ;) hahah
Posted by: Cathy | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:46 AM
Simply gorgeous!
Posted by: Blog is the New Black | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:46 AM
I have a wonderful chocolate cherry recipe if you would like it... definitely can taste the cherries... let me know :)
Posted by: Sarah | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:47 AM
Love red and turquoise! This is going to be my internet birthday cake :)
Posted by: shelly (cookies and cups) | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:49 AM
The colors are just beautiful!
And I love anything cherry! Looks delish!
xoxo
Posted by: Christina | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:10 AM
I took a regular cake recipe and made it strawberry by adding a box of strawberry jello pudding (not jello) and some chopped strawberries. I thought it was too subtle, but nice. The hubs thought it was perfect. I plan on adding just a bit of strawberry extract next time. Maybe you could try that but with cherries? Just a thought.
Posted by: Kelli | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:16 AM
I would love the chocolate cherry recipe Sarah mentioned :)
Posted by: Wendy | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:24 AM
Oh how yummy and so beautifully decorated!! Amanda, you rock!
Posted by: Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:32 AM
So pretty Amanda!! Loving the colour combination and would LOVE to try a slice!
Posted by: Marian (Sweetopia) | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:32 AM
Because you have shared so much with me...my secret to cherry taste (for some reason I get lots of request for cherry flavored confections!) is to replace a portion of the liquid in your recipe with the "juice" from the maraschino cherries. Experiment to taste. And i always chop them and add to the filling, just like you did. Its more than subtle, but less intense than the cherry pudding. Perfect for even non cherry lovers.
Posted by: Paige | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:33 AM
love the cake!
Posted by: angie | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:38 AM
You might want to try a little variation on the buttercream recipe...I use that one all the time too...but I use half butter and half shortening. It doesnt have a greasy feeling on your tongue...my family loves it. Let me know if you try the change :)
Posted by: Michelle Parodi | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:54 AM
love, love, love Amanda - the colors are so bright and cheery!!
Posted by: SMITH BITES | Aug 10, 2011 at 08:59 AM
Oh my goodness. Wait until Bridget see's this cake ;) Sorry the flavour wasn't all you had hoped but your certainly dressed it up beautifully.
Posted by: Paula | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:08 AM
Here's a little recipe I made in April for my daughter's bridal shower. They were yummy!! Give it a try and let me know what ya think. http://curlywillowdiy.blogspot.com/2011/04/vickis-test-kitchen.html
Posted by: Vicki | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:16 AM
It is tooo cute!! It makes me want to go on a picnic!! And that is a GOOD thing :)
Posted by: Kristy | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:17 AM
Love this!! You and Bridget need to get together with your cherry sweets! And, if you make this again, be sure to borrow my apron that matches this cake PERFECTLY!!
Posted by: Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:26 AM
I absolutely love this. It's so funny. I am making an anniversary cake for my husband and I'm using those exact colors, minus the green (black instead). The cherries will be daisies instead. This an awesome cake. I have to keep this design in mind when I do a black forest cake or cherry ice cream cake. Love your work Amanda. I'm always stalking you on Facebook.not in a creepy way though! :)
Posted by: toya | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:39 AM
Beautiful cake, as always, but Buttercream Frosting without butter? Why?
Posted by: Rhett Hoff | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:41 AM
I love the way you decorated this cake. It's so pretty.
Posted by: Amanda | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:46 AM
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Love the blue and the red! And I'm going to try your frosting...here's a confession. I don't love SMBC.
Posted by: bridget {bake at 350} | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:46 AM
LOVE it! I said in this blog post of mine: http://houseofestrogen.typepad.com/house_of_estrogen/2011/06/simple-womans-daybook-june-6-2011.html that I wanted a dress to match my daughter's swimsuit. I didn't know until now that I needed a cake to match it too! Beautiful! Your colors are spot-on!
Posted by: Ann | Aug 10, 2011 at 09:57 AM
Love the frosting colors - too darn cute! Sorry to hear the originally recipe didn't work out but isn't that just the way sometimes - such a shame.
Posted by: Rachel @ Baked by Rachel | Aug 10, 2011 at 10:03 AM
I love your story telling! This cake reminds me of a piece of vintage fabric I used to use in my design business. I must go through the storage and find that remnant! I adore the look of this cake - the color of the frosting is intoxicating and your art work is spot on! You need a book deal...
Posted by: susan | Aug 10, 2011 at 10:05 AM
when you do your cakes, do you cut the outside "crust" off of the cakes? I have the darndest time trying to keep the shape of the cake and cut the crust off... AND trying to keep the sides perfectly vertical - FORGET ABOUT IT....
Any tips you can pass my way? or a link you can send me?
Posted by: Jessica Hinz | Aug 10, 2011 at 10:23 AM
You can add powdered cherry drink mix to your recipe as long as you don't mind the color change.
Posted by: misty | Aug 10, 2011 at 10:25 AM
I LOVE the way you decorated the cake. Red and Turquoise together are my fave! I've never tried this recipe from cooks country, but it's one I've always wanted to:
http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/Cherry-Chocolate-Chip-Cake/8116/
Posted by: Jen | Aug 10, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Very pretty! I think the cherry concentrate from King Arthur Flour would greatly help the cherry flavor... Ooh, I'll have to add that to a cake next time and decorate it like yours. Beautiful!
Posted by: Mary Ellen | Aug 10, 2011 at 10:37 AM
I haven't made a cherry cake before but at least you got a beautifully decorated cake from it all!! Just tell everyone it was supposed to be vanilla...with a hint of cherry. ;-)
Posted by: Kelly | Aug 10, 2011 at 11:23 AM
That looks very cheery! What a pretty cake, and it sounds like it would taste delicious! This is going on the "Must Try" list!
Posted by: Jenny Wren's | Aug 10, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Your interesting fact made me laugh the hardest... I too dislike anything cherry "flavored" (except for actual cherries... at the farmstand, in say...June)
Posted by: Tish | Aug 10, 2011 at 11:42 AM
I love cherries in chocolate cakes. And I think your decorating is beyond cute!
Posted by: Deborah | Aug 10, 2011 at 11:52 AM
That is a beautiful cake!! Love it! If you are the impatient baker then I am the seriously messy baker :)
Posted by: Jennifer | Aug 10, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Seriously - so beautiful! I love cherries and I love the colors on that cake.
Posted by: Kristen | Aug 10, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Gosh that looks neat and simple to do. I would like to believe i can do it too.
Posted by: Kulsum at JourneyKitchen | Aug 10, 2011 at 12:07 PM
I love the colors, very cute cake! I LOVE maraschino cherries, YUM, I could eat a whole jar, and I'm talking those big giant jars, like bulk size :)
Posted by: Renee | Aug 10, 2011 at 12:40 PM
I'm not a cherry fan, but this looks yummy!! The cake is so cute and fun, what a great idea!!
Posted by: Carsedra - Sweet Tooth Desserts | Aug 10, 2011 at 01:27 PM
Maybe for the "cherry taste", could you use a cherry-flavour extract? I bought an apple-flavoured extract for the royal icing on sugar, apple-shaped cookies that I made for teachers @ school-year end. Check out this website from my supplier, Faerie's Finest: "http://www.faeriesfinest.com/extracts.html"
Posted by: Arjay | Aug 10, 2011 at 02:28 PM
This cherry cake looks so cute!! Even if the cake itself didn't turn out as spectacular as you had hoped, it sure looks yummy. All of those bright colors look just gorgeous.
Posted by: Kocinera | Aug 10, 2011 at 02:31 PM
How cute! You're such an inspiration!!! I just wish I could decorate like you!! And I love your crusting buttercream frosting - thanks for sharing!
I also use the Cherry Concentrate from King Arthur Flour (as another commented), and made these cupcakes with it: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cherry-cupcakes-recipe, substituting melted butter for the oil. I also love using the cherry concentrate to tint my frosting a lovely dark pink. It cuts down on the sweetness factor, and the cherry taste isn't overwhelming!
Posted by: TrojanInOz | Aug 10, 2011 at 02:53 PM
Such a gorgeous cake. I am utterly jealous of your baking skills.
Posted by: Juliet | Aug 10, 2011 at 02:58 PM
oooh boy this is a sweet cake...so cute! Reminds me of the days playing HI HO Cherry-O with my daughther those were good times....
Posted by: trisha | Aug 10, 2011 at 04:11 PM
That is AMAZEBALLS!!! so talented!
Posted by: Christy D | Aug 10, 2011 at 04:40 PM
This is so cute! I wouldn't want to cut it. Great job!
Posted by: maggie | Aug 10, 2011 at 05:00 PM
Such a fun cake! Cherries make me happy!
Posted by: Maria | Aug 10, 2011 at 05:27 PM
Hi Amanda, maybe a little organic cherry flavoring would add a little more cherry flavor?
(I love, love, love your blog, your humor and sharing everything with us...I just HATE the Feedjit thing. I've asked the thing to ignore my browser but the change never sticks so have to do it every time. Just sayin'...) Thanks for listening!
Posted by: Syrianna | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:10 PM
Most beautiful cake ever!! So cute and colorful and kitschy.
Also, I'm not EXACTLY sure what kitschy means, but I am pretty sure it means cute and retroish.
You can make this for my birthday anytime!!
Posted by: Cookbook Queen | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:29 PM
I'm sorry the flavor wasn't what you had hoped for Amanda, but I love love LOVE the cutsie cherries! I would also love to know how you get such a smooth finish on your cake without spending hours futzing with it. (You did mention that you're impatient... ) It looks PERFECT and as you know from seeing my cake pics on Facebook, it's the one thing I really want to learn how to do better.
It's completely artificial, but I wonder what adding a teaspoon or two of maraschino cherry juice would add to the party?
Posted by: Becca H. | Aug 10, 2011 at 07:29 PM