The Actual Red, White, and Blue Cake

I am going to quit telling folks my decorating plans for cakes.
I am only going to share the actual cake, cupcakes, or cookies and here is why.

On June 16th, I posted my plans for a three-layer, half sheet cake for a July 1st community program being hosted by our church, First Baptist of Belle.

In the post, Planning a Red, White, and Blue Cake for July, I shared my carefully thought out plan. However, that isn't exactly the cake I took to the program.

White Lemonade, or White Lemon cake is made using a white cake mix. 

1. Place 2-3 Tbsp of lemon juice into your measuring cup and add enough water to make the amount of liquid called for in the box directions. 
2. Also, use whole eggs in place of the egg whites.
3. To use fresh lemon juice and lemon zest   Click Here  for directions

The cake layers and fillings stayed the same with only a minor difference - no lemon zest.

Not a big deal.

However, once I started decorating the giant layer cake, my decorating scheme just disappeared and a totally different cake emerged.

Bill told me the reason this happened. He thinks it is the artist in me. Isn't he a sweetie?

So here are the cake pictures:

Piping a greeting is getting easier for me - I'm not shaking like a leaf and panicking - but it still is not anything to brag about. I used a Wilton #5 tip. 

I decided to try the petal frosting technique on the cake sides. Instead of using a small spatula, I used a teaspoon. It took me about an hour to frost all four sides of the cake and this is the first time I have done this. 

Narrow end of the cake - I used a #125 Wilton petal tip with the wide end toward the cake to make the red ruffled border. 

Corner detail -  I used a #32 Wilton open star tip to pipe a red star in each corner. I started the ruffle at each star. The random red and blue drop flowers were formed with a ##224 Wilton tip.

I was very pleased with my cake. The sides were beautifully straight. The corners were sharp and the petal technique went around the corners in an unbroken line. 

What does it take to make a cake this size?

6 boxes of cake mix - two for each layer

15 eggs

3 cups of canola oil

8 lbs. of powdered sugar

1.5 lbs of butter

about 4-5 cups of shortening

1 cup of strawberry puree

2 pints of blueberries

1 tsp of raspberry extract

about one cup of lemon juice

Americolor super red and royal blue gel food coloring. I love the fact that Americolor puts their gel coloring in a squeeze bottle. 

Strawberry Lemonade Frosting                   

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup strawberry puree - I made mine using thawed, drained frozen strawberries and blending in a mini food chopper.
• 2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 lb bag of powdered sugar

Directions

• Beat shortening and butter together in a large mixing bowl just until blended well, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice and half of the powdered sugar. 
• Beat on low until the ingredients are almost smooth.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl with a large spoon or spatula once or twice. 
• Add the remaining sugar, the strawberry puree, and another Tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Beat on low until the ingredients form a smooth, thick, frosting. No more than 3-4 minutes usually. 

Note: If you think the frosting is too thick, add an additional Tbsp. of lemon juice, or water. It depends on how your frosting tastes.If you think it has enough lemon, add water to thin it down.