Wanna Green Bean: Buttercream Substitute and Raspberry Filled Cake

10 February 2008

Buttercream Substitute and Raspberry Filled Cake

I am enamored with Alton Brown. I love his show, I’ve got a dorky childish crush on his tasty cooking abilities.

Along with Alton, I’m enamored with anything sugary and buttery and calorie laden. Which means when I saw Alton’s episode on buttercream icing I had to try it.

His buttercream consists of eggs, a sugar syrup, and a whole lotta butter. It didn’t sound too difficult, so I gave it a whirl.

It whirled all right but it didn’t fluff thats for sure. The butter kept breaking and separating even at the lowest setting, so all I had was at the end was a thick buttery sugary syrup. It tasted great, it just not quite right for frosting a cake with.

I’d go into more detail about what happened what went wrong and what happened in the kitchen during and afterwards, but those are painful memories of failed sugar. Please don’t make me bring them up.

Never fear! I will try this concoction again, after I burn off the calories from this cake I made to use the frosting on.

I ended up making a buttercream-esque frosting instead for the cake consisting of shortening, butter, and powdered sugar. It still tasted delightfully light, fluffy, sweet and buttery.

By the way, I cheat. I used a boxed white cake. Not only was it boxed, but funfetti as well. I did spiff it up a little with whipped egg whites to make it extra fluffy. (Alton said its okay to used boxed cake as long as you make your own frosting!!!!)

You will need:
1 boxed white cake mix (get one where you have the option of using whole eggs, or just the whites)
oil
water
eggs (follow the box for the amount needed)
seed free fruit spread (I used Raspberry Polaner’s Fruit Spread)
shortening
butter (softened)
powdered sugar

Start by greasing two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

Following the directions for making a cake using only egg whites, separate as many eggs as needed and place the egg whites into a chilled metal bowl.

Beat the egg whites with a cleaner than clean beater until stiff peaks form. If your beaters are dirty, the egg whites will not be able to fluff properly.

In a separate bowl mix together the cake mix, water, and oil (or whatever the box says to mix together). DO NOT ADD THE EGGS YET!

Beat the cake mix for a couple minutes until mixed.

When the batter is mixed, slowly fold in the whipped egg whites. Mix in about 1/3 of the egg whites at a time until they are all mixed in.

Pour half of the mixture into each of the cake pans.

Bake the cake as directed on the box (mine said 27-31 minutes at 350 degrees F).

The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, and the edges of the cake pull away from the pan.

Allow the cakes to cool completely (I’m serious here, LET THEM COOL).

If you really need to eat some slice a very thin slice off the top of the cake, no chunks!!!

(Here is where I began to get very upset at my failing buttercream, so there aren’t pictures for all the steps, nor did I actually measure anything out, sorry!)

Start making your fake buttercream icing.

I used about a 1 to 1 ratio of shortening to butter in this icing. I wanted the butter for flavor, but the shortening to help keep things smooooooooth. Use as much as you want, I used about a cup of each (I wasn’t measuring, just adding things randomly).

Mix these with a blender on medium to high speed. Until nice smooth and silky. I beat for 2-3 minutes, you may need to do it longer depending on the temperature and softness of your ingredients.

Now comes the powdered sugar. (No pictures sorry!)

Sift about 1 cup of powdered sugar to start with.

Stop the beaters for a second and add about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of sifted powdered sugar. Stir a little bit with a spatula to incoporate just slightly so the sugar doesn’t go everywhere when you turn the beaters back on.

Mix with beaters until the sugar is incorporated.

Do some quality control and taste your icing. Unless it still looks shiny and greasy, you don’t have enough sugar yet, it’ll taste gross and greasy.

Keep adding sifted powdered sugar, mixing and tasting until the frosting is the consistency and sweetness that you desire.

I’m not sure what happens if you add too much sugar. I never tried that….if you do, let me know what happens.

Now back to the cakes….

Slice the cakes in half carefully with a long serrated knife.

Spread the insides of each cake with the fruit spread and put them back together as level and centered as possible (so they’re like large sandwich cookie made of two layers of cake, and some fruit spread).

Set one jelly filled cake on your cake plate (or a really big upside down plate in my case).

Plop about 1 cup of frosting ontop of that and spread it out.

Set the second fruit spread filled cake ontop of that as centered as possible (a.k.a. not like mine).

Then plop down what is left of the frosting (minus that spoonful to eat later). I mean all of it here people! It really actually will make it easier to frost. I don’t know why but its easier to take frosting off than put more on (especially when your frostings got those cake crumb nasties mixed into it because you didn’t put enough on to start!).