I’ve been assigned I requested “dessert” for our Saturday Easter cookout at my brother’s house and of course my brain is *buzzing* with opportunities and ideas and possibilities and “how dirty do I want to make my kitchen exactly…” Just for fun, here are some contenders:
Red Velvet Strawberry layer Cake
i am baker: red velvet strawberry layer cake
pros: boxed cake mixes, whipped cream (easy!), strawberries
cons: eh. not crazy about it. How moist would this cake be as frosted w/ whipped cream?
Pina Colada Cake
Smitten Kitchen: Pina Colada Cake
pros: seasonable ingredients, exotic ingredients, unusual combination, easter-ey?
cons: boring looking. like whoa. could I make it into a layer cake? cream cheese frosting or something? eh…?
Rich & Ruffled Cake
Sweetapolita: Rich Ruffled Chocolate Celebration Cake
pros: what a fantastic and somewhat springy color combination, I’ve never made a chocolate cake! LOOK AT ALL THAT ICING
cons: LOOK AT ALL THAT ICING, my husband isn’t crazy about chocolate cake – but then if I think about it he’ll eat anything I bake with a (forced) smile so whatever that’s a moot point.
Tres Leches Cake
Pioneer Woman: Tres Leches Cake
pros: looks delicious and unusual, love moist cake!
cons: calories WHOA have you seen this recipe? appearance wise, pretty boring. can’t make a milk-saturated cake into a layer cake :(
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Pioneer Woman: Strawberry Shortcake Cake
pros: I’ve made it before and I know it’s a winner, strawberries are in season!, everyone loves cream cheese icing
cons: I’ve made it before (I like to try new things!), it’s a bit labor intensive as I remember it, must be kept refrigerated due to cream cheese.
Desk Doodle Cakes
Stickyheels desk doodle inspiration
pros: will use box cake but home made frosting (thats the key to an easy, delicious cake people). Possibly fill it with macerated strawberries? Use swiss merangue buttercream for not-too-sweet stability. Trying to decide between a “ruffle” effect with the butter cream like seen on the Rich & Ruffled Cake or if I should try to use those little round micro sprinkles or jimmies and encrust the cake with them (similar to what you see here).
cons: in the end I feel it will just be a little boring & I trust other peoples pretty blog pictures to help me end up with a worthwhile cake.
Any opinions on the above? Or other suggestions?
wow these all look terrific! My vote is choc celebration or the strawberry shortcake. Though if you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing, non-chocolate cake thats incredibly easy, I recommend pineapple upside down cake. http://www.joyofbaking.com/PineappleUpsideDownCake.html
When made with fresh pineapple, this cake is elevated far beyond the canned variety. And it only takes an hour. Fresh pineapple, caramel – what’s not to like?
i now feel like i need to bake. i also LOVE this recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/fresh-blackberry-cake/
frankly, looking at this roster, i feel quite strongly that you can’t go far wrong. if forced, though, i’d probably have to go for the tres leches cake, only minus the marachino cherry! wish i could taste test alongside!
p.s. does anyone really like marachino cherries?