Grandma Lorraines Single Layer Birthday Cakes Recipes

SINGLE LAYER BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• 2 old fashioned glass soda bottles, 1 cola, 1 lemon-lime
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 (8-inch) round baking pans with baking spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons extract and white cranberry juice. Use an electric mixer to beat cake batter on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
• Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 32 to 35 minutes, or until tester comes away clean.
• Let cakes cool completely. Use a cookie cutter or water glass to cut out a circle to fit the soda bottle - it will nest into cake.
• Add remaining 1 teaspoon extract to frosting and stir thoroughly. Frost entire cake. Sprinkle with colorful jimmies. Insert soda bottle into hole and serve.

CUPCAKE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• For the layer cake:
• Bake according to package directions to make 2 (9-inch) rounds.
• For the Cupcakes:
• Bake according to package directions to make 24 cupcakes.
• Assembly:
• Sandwich the 2 layer cakes together with 1/2 cup buttercream. Flatten top layer by cutting if necessary, then cover the sides and top with remaining pint of frosting. Smooth out top and sides. Place in refrigerator and let chill for 1 to 2 hours.
• Divide remaining 2 pints of frosting into 4 bowls. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons marshmallow flavoring to each bowl. Mix blue, red, green and yellow food coloring in each bowl. Fill 4 small sandwich bags with about 1/2 cup of each color. Cut a small slit on 1 side of the bottom of each bag and lightly pipe varying sizes of dots on the layer cake. Frost cupcakes with remaining colored buttercream frosting. Arrange and stack the frosted cupcakes in a 3-level pyramid atop the cake. Construct the pyramid with 7 cupcakes on the bottom layer; 3 on the middle layer, and 1 cupcake on top.

CAPPUCCINO "CUP" CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 10 coffee mugs with nonstick spray.
• In a small bowl combine instant coffee and 2 tablespoons hot water. Mix and set aside.
• In a large bowl combine cake mix, milk, oil, eggs and half the coffee. Mix until blended. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cake batter. Fill coffee mugs 2/3 of the way with cake batter. In small bowl combine remaining coffee, cocoa powder and reserved cake mix and mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of the mixture to each mug and swirl into batter with a toothpick or skewer.
• Place mugs on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean. Allow to cool.
• Mix vanilla extract together with whipped topping. Place a dollop of the topping onto each cake. Dust topping with ground cinnamon and insert the cinnamon sticks into the cakes.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE MINI LAYER CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Make the cakes: Spray two 9-by-13-inch baking pans with cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray the parchment with cooking spray. Combine the cocoa powder and hot water in a small bowl and whisk until smooth; let cool slightly. Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and vinegar in another large bowl, then add the cocoa mixture and whisk until very smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly between 2 medium bowls. Whisk 2 teaspoons red food coloring into one bowl until combined. Whisk 2 teaspoons blue food coloring into the other bowl until combined; add more blue food coloring, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, to make the batter royal blue.
• Evenly spread the red batter in one pan and the blue batter in the other. Bake until the cakes spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks and let the cakes cool 10 minutes in the pans; carefully turn out the cakes onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment.
• Transfer one cake to a cutting board. Starting at the very edge of the cake, use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out 12 rounds. (Do not leave any space between the rounds when cutting.) Repeat to cut out 12 rounds from the other cake.
• Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until well combined. Add half of the confectioners' sugar and the salt and beat on low speed to combine. Beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Assemble the cakes: Spread about 2 heaping tablespoons frosting on the top of each cake round. Stack them in tiers of three, alternating red and blue layers (some cakes will have 2 blue layers and some will have 2 red). Top with sprinkles.

CRISPY POTATO-PEPPER CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix potatoes and bell pepper. In a small bowl, beat eggs with cheese and herbs de Provence. Add to potato mixture and mix thoroughly. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of potato mixture at a time into the skillet, pressing with the back of a spatula to flatten to a round about 3 inches in diameter; cook no more than 4 cakes at a time. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden, turn, and cook other side until golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain and then transfer to a baking sheet and hold in the warm oven. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture. Serve topped with spoonful of sour cream and sprinkled with basil shreds.