Step 7. Consumption

Lo and behold! Now it is time to sample the flavors of your hard work. Hopefully this won't be your last adventure into the world of baked goods, I certainly had too much fun making this delectable mess to stop. So have your cake, and eat it too!

Step 6. Final Decorations.

Now is time to clothe the cake in a final layer of icing. Use the remaining icing (hopefully what's left of the first can and all of the second) and apply big dollops of it to the sides and top. Beginning with the top, smooth out the icing in a circular fashion. Holding your knife and spinning the plate to rotate the cake around the knife, like this helps a great deal. Then smooth out the sides using the same plate-spinning technique. My cake ended up being not-so-smooth, as the icing was very heavy and kept sticking and moving with the knife, past the point of being helpful.

I ended up with this- rough edges and all.

It is here that I sprinkled the remainder of my Oreo bits across the top of my cake. This can be done in any fashion or design- I ended up making a Yin Yang on top of mine, in reference to a past project and to be able to have a very Zen and well-balanced cake.

Ta-da!

Step 5. Tower of Confection

Cake is cooled? Righteous, now we can begin to stack and add frosting. First, open the cans of Pillsbury cream cheese frosting and crush about 5 cups of Oreos. On top of the first layer of cake, apply a thick layer of frosting using a butter knife of spatula. Then on top of that sprinkle some crushed Oreos. Now, when I attempted to peel a layer of cake off of one plate after cooling, I lost a bit of it due to sticking. If this happens to you, the just fill in the missing bits frosting and Oreos. Apply frosting to the top of each layer, except the top layer- this one I did last.

Frostin' that cake good.


Naked cake.

Step 4. Cooling Off

Once the appropriate amount of time has passed, remove the piping hot cake from the oven and place it somewhere to cool. It is VERY important that you let the cake cool for at least an hour before you apply icing, otherwise it will melt off.

Now, at this point I repeated steps 1 through 3 two more times to make two more layers of cake, however you don't have to- you can make a 2 or 1 layer wimp of a cake, whatever you want.

My 3 layers chilling out.
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Step 3. Turn On the Juice and See What Shakes Loose.

Time now to preheat your oven! Set your oven/stove/flamethrower to 350ºF and wait around for it to fire up for about 15 minutes, depending on how fast you cooking device can conjure its flame. Of course you can do this while mixing your ingredients together to save time; but if you're like me and have a one-track mind and plenty of time to kill, sit back and chill for a minute... or you could pray to the gods to bestow your oven with fire...just so long as it heats up.

Preheating!

Now once heated, lovingly place the cake batter into the warm embrace of your very hot oven. Once in, you must again play the waiting game- this time for about 30 minutes, or until the surface of the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Docking.

Step 2. Deluge of Baking Fluids

At this point, the recipe/ritual commands that the you make three wells (holes) in the concoction. In the first, add 1 1/2 (or a little more) teaspoons of vanilla. The original recipe calls for just 1 teaspoon, but I wanted a little more flavor- I know, such a rebel. Anyways, after the first well is filled, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Then in the third, add 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Next, pour over the cup of whole milk and stir until you have a very moist batter. Lastly, pour the unholy brew into your cake pan.

Commence the pouring!

Step 1. Powders and Other Solids

Fetch a large bowl and mix together 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. Then mix together into a lovely light-brown, powdery mess.

Before

After

Fixin's

Here's the ingredients I used. I got my recipe here, and then made a few changes, but I'll get to that in a minute.

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup whole milk

Now, I decided to make 3 layers of cake while these ingredients make only 1 layer, so I tripled each measurement for the amount of cake I made. The original recipe called for a cup of water, but I used whole milk instead, as I wanted a heavier cake.

For the icing I used 2 cans of Pillsbury cream cheese icing and about 5 cups of crushed Oreos.

You will also need a measuring cup, teaspoons, tablespoons, a butter knife or spatula, a large mixing spoon/whisk, a mixing bowl, and a cake pan.

The Beginning of Something Delicious

The idea to make a cake came about due to the fact that I am utterly unlearned in the school of baking. Sure, I can stack sandwiches together or cook up some Ramen noodles like no body's business, but the art of actually concocting a tasty creation such as a cake is something of a mystery to me. This blog will document the process of my cake-making adventure!

Here are some helpful hints in cake making, including the original recipe to the delicacy I prepared.

Cake Tips

Icing Tips

Icing Tips 2

Recipe