two red cakes

Today has been a day where I need to be on a board of some type and possibly living in a tent!  

But last weekend, I was given the request from Koda Bear that he would like a red cake for his birthday.  Red is his current favorite color.  The request was actually for a white inside and a red outside but I over achieved.  At six inches in diameter, I felt that I could make two.  One was vanilla and one was red velvet.

I used my vanilla cake from my blackberry buckle recipe.  I left off the blackberries and extra sugar.  I sliced the cake in thirds and then filled it with raspberry jam using Mary Berry's recipe from the Prinsesstarta recipe and Joanna Chung recipe for creme patiserrie.  I used Tessa Kiros' recipe for the butter cream on the outside.  Tessa Kiros' is where I got the original vanilla cake recipe.  I have a tendency to adapt it to what i have in the house and also add fruit!

I also made Koda Bear a all red cake using the red velvet cake recipe from Bakerella.  I made a mascarpone frosting for it.  Both the buttercream and the mascarpone frosting recipes needed tweaking because I used one ounce of red food coloring for each.  I sliced the red velvet in thirds as well and slather the mascarpone icing between.

And because I do not decorate yet, real small metal toys were used for decoration.  I got huge thank yous from Koda Bear for that.

Now here is the funny thing, Koda Bear asked for a red cake with a white inside.

That turned out to be Grandpa's favorite cake.  It has all the best flavors of the Prinsesstarta and a lovely butter cream on the outside.  There is so much butter in this cake that the outsides have almost a crust even when you bring it out when it is just baked.  It is why using it as a buckle is so nice.  But with the cream, jam, and frosting, that crust adds a nice almost carmelish flavor.  Quite lovely.

 

Koda Bear's favorite cake is the red velvet with mascarpone  frosting.  Most cakes, he just eat the frosting.  This cake, he all but licks the plate!  I would say it is a success.  He has not even asked for just frosting on a spoon.  I have leftover frosting.

I am not sure what I am going to do for next year but it will not be three cakes!