One of the great things about having my daughter get married is that I now have another excuse to make a birthday cake. How fortuitous that the future son-in-law's birthday coincided with the Daring Baker's challenge to make Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. I got the fun of making the cake and he got the fun of having a homemade birthday cake. And what a cake! I've been longing to make this cake for a while because the picture in the book (Baking, From My Home to Yours) is gorgeous. It's a fluffy, white cake, with snow white frosting, covered in coconut. Which is the reason I've never made the cake. My family all gags at coconut.
Thankfully, Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts, the host for this month's challenge, allowed us to play with the recipe. I cheerfully omitted the coconut and added my freezer strawberry jam in between the layers.
I am not confident with this type of frosting. I'd only previously made it for the Yule Log. I'm not sure that I made it correctly. It wasn't fun to work with, but it tasted really good. I tried to carefully gauge how much frosting to put between the layers, but came up quite short when it was time to frost the outside. The future S-I-L watched in amusement as I fussed and fumed, trying to cover the cake with the inadequate supply of frosting. Finally, I decided creativity covers up a multitude of baking sins. Sliced strawberries covered up most of the cake, and a nest of shaved white chocolate neatly covers up the top. Bonus, the flavors all worked really well with the strawberry jam filling and the tart lemony flavor of the cake layers.
I loved the way the cake tasted and will definitely make it again. I need more work on the frosting, though. Thanks, Morven, for giving me a reason to try this wonderful recipe!
Check out all the other gorgeous variations on this delicious cake at the Daring Baker's Blogroll!
52 comments:
Lovely job Lynn- I went for strawberries too- they feel so Spring-ish. Perfect job!
xoxo
Gabi
Oh Lynn that is one lucky man (two ways at least)!
Your cake is super! The strawberries seem perfect for flavor and chamo!! This would make wedding cake wouldn't it. . .
Hi Lynn, your cake looks lovely!
I had only just enough frosting to finish the cake too. Not hardly a lick left!
I think the soon to be SIL hit the jackpot for the MIL!
Your cake looks beautiful. Congratulations on a successful challenge.
Happy birthday to s-i-l to be, and great cake!
Gorgeous cake and great job improvising with the frosting...it looks great!
Looks beautiful, and nice job improvising! I wouldn't have had enough to do the outside of the cake. I went with whipped cream on the exterior.
I made a mini cake and barely had frosting left, so I am can't imagine trying to do the big one. Of course I ate a lot of frosting before it made it to the actual cake. :)
The strawberries along the side are a nice touch.
Lynn-
Looks lovely as usual. Love the strawberry slices around the edges!
Love the strawberry cover up. :)
I had a frosting shortage as well. What a nice MIL to make such a nice cake for her future SIL. Great job!
Mmm, very pretty! Its funny, I felt I almost had too much frosting, maybe I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to frosting on my cakes, or maybe its just the more reserved britishness coming out!
How do I make this lovely cake?
Your pictures are lovely! Great job.
Strawberries can fix anything, looks great!
The colors of that cake are incredible, so vibrant! The sliced strawberries is a wonderful touch, it makes the cake even more festive!
Very pretty! I think strawberries are the perfect match for this cake. Nice job!
Your cake looks so beautiful!!
You never once disappointed me...the cake is lovely! Love how you decorated the sides with sliced strawberries :)
the sliced strawberries make it look so delectable! congratulations on a great cake!
I too went the strawberry route! Great idea with the white chocolate on top. Fantastic looking cake!
Your cake looks wonderful and very spring-like! Very well done!
Cheers,
Rosa
Those berries look dazzling against that beautiful white buttercream. I always run out of frosting, bo this time I made a double batch. It was delicious, but I'm still cringing at the 6 sticks of butter!
Pretty cake - I love your plates.
so lovely indeed!
I love the strawberries, it makes this the perfect spring bday cake. Your son in law is a very lucky man. :)
how sad that coconut makes ya'll gag! i don't think your cake is missing it though. white chocolate + strawberries = pure deliciousness. :)
Your son-in-law is a very lucky guy! This is my husband's favorite cake, and yours looks absolutely gorgeous! Well-done, Lynn!
i love how you decorated it--springy and fresh!
Yeah for Sam having a home-made cake that aren't nasty-over-baked-cup-cakes. Did you know that is what is made for birthdays normally? For some reason Riley doesn't like cake, he eats cup cakes... some people are weirdo.s
Gorgeous cake, each one is better looking than the last!!!
Those strawberries are huge and they look fantastic on that delicious cake.
WOW!!!! When's the party? :)
Your cake looks amazing! I went with a strawberry theme as well.
What a gorgeous cake! I love the strawberries on the side. Well done again Lynn!
Your cake looks beautiful!
Lucky birthday boy! The cake is really lovely with those pretty strawberry slices and the white chocolate nest on top. Pretty perfect :)
This cake and the yule log are my experiences with Swiss buttercream too. I love it! Your cake looks beautiful. Love the white chocolate shavings on top and creative way of fixing your icing problem.
That cake looks wonderful - strawberry and cake, that is real heaven for me!
Necessity is the mother of invention and seems you had it in spades when requiring to cover the frosting thingy. It always happens... I ponder making just a little more frosting every time, just in case. I never do and then wish I had.
Shh just pretend it was planned that way! That's what it looks like to me, very pretty with the sliced strawberries!
This post makes me crave my Mom's strawberry freezer jam like mad. I love this cake with strawberries.
What a perfect cake! Gorgeous!
A great solution, beautiful!
Yay for new baking opportunities! Your cake looks great...never would have thought that you had icing troubles.
Lynn,
That is one lucky SIL!!! Gorgeous cake!
Yumm..chocolate and strawberries! I love the strawberry florette! :)
Strawberry cake is definitely one of my favorite desserts! Not only do the tartness of most strawberries taste great against the sweetness of frosting, but they add a certain kind of freshness that I think most desserts lack. Beautiful cake and great April Fools Joke - I feel for it :)!
Sophie
Flour Arrangements
hmm...I should say fell, sorry about the typo...but I did feel for you as I was reading the post! Felt pretty bad til I realized I was fooled! :D
You have a beautiful cake, but I can't figure out how big it is. Those must be huge California strawberries. I know that strawberries aren't growing yet in the Northwest.
Your cake looks gorgeous! What a great idea with the strawberries. I had the EXACT problem with not having enough frosting for the top and sides. But I can't tell from your pictures that you didn't have enough - it looks great!
We'd like to invite you to participate in our July berry recipe contest. All competitors will be placed on our blogroll, and the winner will receive a fun prize! Please email me, sophiekiblogger@gmail.com, if you're interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details. (Click on my name in the message to visit our blog. :)
Good words.
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