Designer Handbag Cakes

with Elisa Strauss

Recipes

Servings

Use this chart to help you determine how many servings youll get from different sizes of cake. With sculpted cakes you will have to start with a larger size cake, because as you sculpt, it gets smaller. So keep the number of people you want to serve in mind as youre deciding what size cakes to bake. The numbers tell you how many servings per size and shape of cake. Obviously, the number of servings depends on the size of the slice and in my family that depends on whether my dad or mom is cutting! This chart assumes slices are approximately 1" wide and 4" high.

Round 6" cake 8" cake 10" cake 12" cake 14" cake 16" cake 6 18 30 45 60 80

Square 10 25 40 50 75 100

Copyright Elisa Strauss, Confetti Cakes for Kids

Designer Handbag Cakes

with Elisa Strauss
Recipes

Vanilla Cake
This is a delicious white cake with a slightly crunchy top and is the perfect texture for creating sculpted cakes. The recipe calls only for egg whites, which makes it nice and light. Add extra flavor to this cake by brushing layers with flavored simple syrup.

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the bottoms and sides of the pans with melted butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper. 2. In a large bowl, sift together the cake our, all-purpose our, and baking powder. Set aside. 3. In the bowl of a standing mixer tted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and uffy. 4. Add the salt and vanilla. 5. Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add the egg whites, scraping often. 6. Alternately add the our mixture and milk to the butter mixture in two batches, starting with the our. Scrape down the bowl between each addition and beat until thoroughly combined. Set the mixer to medium-high speed for about 20 seconds then stop and scrape the sides of the bowl.

Ingredients Yield: Three 9" rounds, one half sheet (13" x 18") or 24 cupcakes 2 cups (8 ounces; 227 grams) cake our 1 cups plus 1 teaspoons (8 ounces; 227 grams) allpurpose our 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup (2 sticks; 8 ounces; 227 grams) unsalted butter 3 cups (21 ounces; 595 grams) granulated sugar teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup (8 ounces; about 7 eggs; 227 grams) egg whites or pasteurized egg whites in liquid form 1 cups (12 ounces; 340 grams) milk

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Copyright Elisa Strauss, The Confetti Cakes Cookbook

Designer Handbag Cakes

with Elisa Strauss
Recipes

Vanilla Cake
Method (continued) 7. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans or mufn tins. For 9" cake pans, bake 40 min or until a toothpick comes out clean; for halfsheet pans, bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean; for cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until they spring back after being touched. 8. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes. Once the cake is cool, release it from its pan by running a metal spatula or knife along the sides of the pan. Flip the cake over onto another pan or cake board and peel away the layer of parchment.

Variation Lemon Cake: Add the zest and juice of two lemons (about 1 teaspoons of zest and 1 tablespoon of juice) to the batter in step 4.

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Copyright Elisa Strauss, The Confetti Cakes Cookbook

Designer Handbag Cakes

with Elisa Strauss
Recipes

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

If you make cakes often, you will start to think of this as your go-to buttercream: smooth and delicious and just sweet, strong and stable enough to fill sculpted and tiered cakes or look gorgeous on top of cupcakes. You can mix it up with all kinds of variations weve included some of our favorites here.

Method 1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, thoroughly whisk together sugar and egg whites. 2. Set the bowl over a pot of boiling water. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture until all the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture is hot. Get it as hot as you can but be careful not to cook the eggs. 3. Put the bowl back in the mixer tted with a whip attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture forms a stiff meringue and the bottom comes to room temperature, about 10 minutes. 4. Stop the mixer and replace the whip attachment with the paddle attachment 5. Set the mixer to low speed and add the butter, a few cubes at a time. When all the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer to medium speed and mix until uffy.

Ingredients Yield: 8 cups (enough to ll and crumb coat two 9" round cakes, each consisting of two layers of lling and three layers of cake; or 24 cupcakes with swirls) 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons (20 ounces; 567 grams) granulated sugar 1 cups (10 ounces: 284 grams) egg whites, or pasteurized egg whites in liquid form 2 cups (5 sticks; 20 ounces; 567 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and softened cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 ounces; 71 grams) pure vanilla extract

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Copyright Elisa Strauss, Confetti Cakes for Kids

Designer Handbag Cakes

with Elisa Strauss
Recipes

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Method (continued) 6. Set the mixer to low speed and add the vanilla. Once the vanilla is incorporated, scrape the bowl and continue to mix on medium speed until you have a smooth, creamy texture. If the buttercream is too liquid, refrigerate until completely cool and stiff, then rewhip. 7. You can use the buttercream immediately, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate it in an airtight container for 10 days. Variations Add the ingredients for these variations after step 6 in the original recipe. Be sure that the buttercream is cool and stiff before adding any variations. Chocolate: Add cup (4 ounces; 113 grams) of melted semisweet (58 percent) chocolate in a steady stream while mixing on low speed. Be sure that the chocolate is cool or it will melt the buttercream. Mocha: Add cup (2 ounces; 57 grams) of cold strong coffee and cup (2 ounces; 57 grams) melted and cooled semisweet (58 percent) chocolate in slow steady streams while mixing on low speed. Raspberry: Add cup (4 ounces; 113 grams) of seedless raspberry puree and mix on low speed. Cream cheese: Add 1 cup (8 ounces; 227) softened cream cheese and mix on low speed. Tips: Before you begin this recipe, clean all utensils and equipment thoroughly with a paper towel moistened with lemon juice. This eliminates any grease or oil that may prevent the meringue from whipping to its proper volume and consistency. After you refrigerate the buttercream, you need to reconstitute it before you can use it. Heat 1/3 of your buttercream in the microwave until it is warm to the touch. Place the remaining 2/3 in the bowl of a mixer and beat on medium speed. Add the warmed buttercream and beat until creamy.

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Copyright Elisa Strauss, Confetti Cakes for Kids

Designer Handbag Cakes

with Elisa Strauss
Recipes

Royal Icing
For cake and cookie decorators, royal icing is indispensable. Think of it as sweet, edible glue that holds together or attaches finished tiers of cake, ices cookies, creates decorations, and allows you to attach decorations directly onto the cake. The amount of sugar you use will determine the thickness of your royal icing. For stiffer icing, add more sugar. For looser icing (for flooding your designs), add a few drops of water to thin the icing a bit.

Method 1. In the bowl of an electric mixer tted with a paddle attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. 2. Gradually add the confectioners sugar, cup (4 ounces; 113 grams) at a time, on medium-low speed. Scrape thoroughly between additions. 3. Add the lemon juice and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the icing is no longer shiny, about 6 to 8 minutes. 4. Use immediately or place the icing into an airtight container. You can keep Royal Icing in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Ingredients Yield: 4 cups 1/3 cup (3 ounces; 85 grams) pasteurized egg whites 4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (16 ounces;454 grams) sifted confectioners sugar teaspoon lemon juice

Tip: Allow your royal icing to come to room temperature before you use it. It will be much easier to mix and pipe.

Copyright Elisa Strauss, Confetti Cakes for Kids