I used the buttercream recipe that accompanies the cake for the main body. I figure they're paired together for a reason. :) Then I mixed another batch for the borders and decoration. I used this recipe but altered it slightly. I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk instead of EIGHT! Even half that would have made it a soupy mess.
I rushed it... mixed, baked, cooled, mixed again (icing), iced, and decorated all in under 3 hours. It was pushing it. Not something I like to do.
Here's the final result:
The chocolate icing had a good flavor but was anything but appropriate for decorating. Putting that stuff in a piping bag would be about as useless as a milk bucket under a bull so I just slapped it on the cake. The pink icing had a great flavor. I will definitely be trying the recipe for my next cake. It's easier than the other buttercreams I've been using and tastes a lot better too. Also, it was pretty easy to work with. The texture worked well in the bag.
As per being me, I did have some issues. I trimmed the cake layers and just about lost them both because they were super moist to the touch. I didn't get the cake exactly square. (Hey, it's an OCD thing... I "need" them all to be perfect. Of course, I have that Aries thing too where if it's not, I'll only be upset for a while and then get bored with it and move on. Haha!)
The writing on this one was better than the last cake I did... but I ended up having to remove two of the "s" swirls and flip them around to get the words to fit. In retrospect, I should have left the "21st" off since it was such a small cake. It was slightly lop-sided after putting the icing in the middle. (How the heck do you keep the layers from sliding against each other once they have the icing acting as a lubricant between them?)
I'll admit I'm freaked about the actual taste and texture of the cake. The main reason I try different recipes is because I know my family and I are going to be the ones eating it and I can judge the actual food quality of the cake before giving it to anyone else.
We tried the trimmed pieces earlier with the icing. My husband said the cake was dry but I thought it was fine. I take into consideration that we got the very edges off a cake that was baked in dark, nonstick pans. (I don't know if I can actually bake in them... I have a feeling it's going to be trial and error until I learn the differences between the dark ones and the regular ones I have.)
Hopefully, if it completely sucks Bianca will be honest about it so I know to test and retest the recipe before making one for another person. Honestly though, the batter was delicious and it is, as I said, from Emeril. Emeril wouldn't steer us wrong, right? LOL!
Here's a pic of Bianca with her cake:
She's so tiny... ... ... or I'm just huge... ... ... or probably a little of both. :)
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