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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
Good moms take the cakeAlas, nothing is the way it used to be. I remember when my mother baked at least one cake a week and there were only three of us in the family. Then along came my brother who has had a love affair with chocolate all of his life. As he is the Great Spirit's gift to the chocolate industry he upped the cake consumption even further. Those were the good old days. Now we all seem to be lucky if we even get a smell of cake for such a traditional excuse for cake as a birthday. All things considered maybe baking a cake for Mom's-Appreciation-Day would be appreciated. The nice thing about that operation is that you get to eat it, as well as have the fun of scratching the cake together. Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon CreamThis is a classic cake. My Mother and grandmother made it but they used the lemon curd as a filling and a 7-minute icing over all. Whipped cream used as an icing is both quicker and easier. Cake can be assembled a day ahead and kept wrapped in the refrigerator. 2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising) Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms of each with buttered wax or parchment paper (buttered side up). Dust pans with flour. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir together milk and lemon juice (mixture will curdle). Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour, mixing at low speed, ONLY until combined. Divide batter between pans, smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until it tests done, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes before inverting onto racks and removing paper. Makes 2 cake layers. To assemble cake place 1 layer, rounded side up, on plate and spread with a fourth of the frosting. Top with second layer, rounded side up, and spread top and sides with remaining frosting. Lemon Curd FrostingThis curd can also be used for filling tarts or jamming together cookies. 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice Whisk together juice, zest, sugar and eggs in heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over low-heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface; about 6 minutes. Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, with the surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold. Curd can be made ahead and kept chilled for as long as a week. Fast Lemon FrostingYou can, of course, buy lemon curd to use when you're in a rush. 1 cup heavy cream Beat cream and confectioners sugar with cleaned beaters until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold one-third of whipped cream into lemon cream to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream. Makes enough for use as both filling and frosting. Wacky Chocolate CakeThis recipe made the rounds in the 1990's when everyone was making it because it is almost as quick and easy as a cake mix. 3 cups all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 350 and use an ungreased 9 x 13-inch pan. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder twice, the second time sift into the baking pan; level off. Make 3 holes in flower mixture. In one hole put the vinegar, in another the vanilla and in the last hole the oil. Pour 2 cups of lukewarm water over all and stir until well mixed and flour disappears. Bake about 45 minutes. When cool spread with jam. Serve with whipped cream and fresh raspberries or strawberries. Makes 12 pieces. Easiest Coconut Layer CakeCake can be sprinkled with either white or toasted coconut. 1 regular size package yellow or white cake mix Prepare cake mix according to package direction adding 1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring to the batter. Bake in 2 round cake pans. When cool, cut through the middle of each layer to yield 4 layers. Stack the 4 layers with whipped topping, which has been flavored with the remaining l/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring. Use remaining whipped cream to frost sides and top of cake. Sprinkle coconut on the top and sides. Store in the refrigerator. Quick Version of a Black Forest TorteThis is an adaptation of the famous German cake which they lace with kirshwasser, a distillate of cherries. 1 regular size package devils food cake mix Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Prepare mix according to package directions and spoon into prepared pan. Bake according to package directions. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Slice cake horizontally to make 3 layers. Place bottom layer on cake platter; spread with about a cup of whipped topping and top with one-third of the cherry pie filling. Repeat process with second and third layers. Chill well. Cake baking is fun; cake eating is even funner!
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