The Viva Method

This wonderful Christmas weekend was spent cooking, spending time with my family, and eating. And eating. And eating. I also got the opportunity to make a cake for one of the lovely ladies I work with - it was her daughter's birthday the day after Christmas. And although I love making and decorating cakes, the part that gets me the most worked up is making the icing smooth to give it a polished and clean look.

Making the icing smooth on the cake is NOT "a piece of cake"...that is until I learned a new way to do it - the Viva method.

Of course by "Viva," I mean the Viva brand paper towels. They are made smooth, without any designs or imprints on them.

What you need:
1 roll Viva paper towels
1 fondant smoother
An iced cake

How to do it:
Once you crumb coat and ice your cake, put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 - 45 minutes, or until the icing is beginning to set up and create a crust on the outside.

Next, take out the cake with the hardened icing and place a Viva paper towel on top. With gentle pressure, begin smoothing the top and sides of the cake (I usually do it in circular motions, but I don't think there is any science to it).

Once you have worked over the entire cake with the paper towel and fondant smoother, you will have an evenly smooth iced cake!

This method has just made my life so much easier and I'm glad I'm no longer spending hours just trying to get the icing to look "clean"!! Hope this tip can help someone out there.

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Re-Post: Carrot Cake!!!

This is a re-post from my old blog, but since I am making a carrot cake today, I thought I would share. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com and altered to my liking. Enjoy! (Picture to come)

Carrot Cake III

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used 3/4 cup oil & added 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 2 cups white sugar (I used 1 1/2 cups brown sugar & 1/2 cup white sugar)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (and a dash of nutmeg)
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped pecans (I only used these to sprinkle on top, not in the batter)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar (I think I ended up using about 3 or 3 1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

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