Happy Monday all!
I had originally planned to get this post up yesterday… but then time just got away from me… so here we are. (As a side note, don’t you just wish you could go to the store and buy more time? In my mind it would be sold like parking meters – 25 cents for each additional 15 minutes of time you would like to add to your day. If only.)
On Saturday morning, before and after getting my hair cut, I was able to finally construct my Dreamy Creamsicle Cake. I had pulled the cake out of the freezer the night before to thaw, and had pulled the frosting out of the fridge first thing in the morning so they could soften.
The first problem I encountered was that my Orange IMCCB had broken (if you don’t know what that is, check here :)). Honestly, I think it was broken when I first made it, but at the time I was too positive and was just thinking “oh, that’s only orange zest”. Um, no. Unfortunately after the Orange IMCCB had softened and I re-mixed it to hopefully get the emulsion working, it just kind of stared at me sadly while swirling around in the mixing bowl. But no matter – I had been trying to decide which frosting would be for the inside of the cake, and that just decided it for me, because geez did that stuff still taste good – so good I couldn’t not use it.
When putting this cake together, I had decided to make thinner layers (with more frosting) to make sure that the flavor was well incorporated as well as keeping the cake moist. Along with this, I had also decided that I wanted to try what I refer to as “swoosh” frosting – basically frosting the cake with an ongoing back and forth motion using a small spatula or back of a spoon to give it a somewhat-unfinished-but-still-nice look. I think my first attempt at this came out alright – not the best, but definitely not too shabby either!
With the frosting amounts I made in the previous post – I used it ALL. There was literally nothing left in either bowl, the amount worked out just perfectly. And, as always, I brushed my cakes with simple syrup to make the frosting stick. To continue the flavor theme of my cake, I used vanilla in the simple syrup, which of course worked perfectly with the oranges and vanilla cream.
This cake ended up being a nice weight – almost pound cake-ish, but not quite as dense. Everyone seemed to love it, and their first reaction was that it taste just like a creamsicle. My dad thought that the vanilla cream cheese frosting was a little too sweet, so I might have to adjust that a bit, but all in all, I would say this was a delicious success!
Next in line – a Christening cake. Oh boy oh boy!
It looks awesome Kat!! Congrats on creating your own recipe! I’m actually really jealous. 🙂
Thanks Amy! Btw, I have been meaning to send out an email – we need to get together sometime soon! I miss you guys!!
Congrats! This cake looks great, and nothing is too sweet, IMO! I’m in the process of making a creamsicle cake, myself, which is how I found these posts. I used a simple recipe for strawberry cake, only substituting orange gelatin for strawberry and adding a few things to the batter (like sour cream, cinnamon, and buttermilk for milk). I made a single layer, then poked holes in the warm top and poured/spread over it a (quickly thickening) mixture of sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and orange Kool Aid. It’s in the freezer now, and I want to ice it tomorrow with an adapted icing recipe calling for instant pudding. Nary an orange used, but I’m hoping for the best. =)
Thanks Josie! That sounds yummy – especially with the cinnamon, which would add some extra depth of flavor. Definitely let me know how it turns out!
Hi! The cake was good, but if I had it to do over, I’d definitely make the top-most icing differently. It called for instant pudding, but I used the kind you have to cook (oops!), and it never got as fluffy as it should have, even after mixing it with heavy cream and cool whip.
Do you think you would make it again? Or just switch to a different kind of frosting? I was surprised how well the cream cheese worked out – I thought it would be super cream-cheesey on the cake, but it really did come across as vanilla!
Ya know, if I did it again, I’d forgo poking holes in the top, since the Kool-Aid-condensed milk mixture was a bit too thick to soak through and just sat on top like a first layer of icing…but it had a good taste. Instead, I’d pour that over the warm cake, cool, and top it with sweetened whipped cream. I made a similar cake the week before using lime-flavored Jello, with the “poke” icing being a mixture of condensed milk, lime juice, and whipping cream. It also got a little too thick to soak all the way through. I topped it with cream cheese frosting, and it was good. Like yours, it wasn’t super-cream cheesey. But I do love cream cheese frosting the best!
I’m thinking of making a chocolate-covered cherry cake, making two layers using my standard cake recipe and cherry Jello (and my beloved Kool Aid?), somehow incorporating maraschino cherries- middle layer condensed milk and whipping cream and maybe a little almond extract- and frosting it with some kind of chocolate. Maybe sour cream chocolate frosting? Not sure yet!
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