Easter Egg 4 Layer Cake1953 From A Box Mix Recipes

EASTER CAKE WITH A SURPRISE INSIDE (BOXED MIX HACK)

Steps:

• Prepare the cake mix to make 8-inch or 9-inch layer cakes (2 per mix). Follow directions to remove from pans and fully cool (especially if gluten-free). Note: cake layers may be wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled before proceeding for easier cutting and frosting._
• Cut a 3 ½ inch hole in the center of one layer of the cake (I used the rim of a large glass as a guide).
• Place the layer with a hole on top of a second layer aligning the sides to have the layers directly underneath each other. Cut a hole in the second cake.
• Place an uncut layer of cake on a serving plate or cake cardboard.
• Spread a layer of frosting on the bottom side of one of the cut layers of cake and place it on top of the bottom layer.
• Repeat with the second cut layer, aligning it so the holes are directly above each other.
• Fill the hole with the assorted Easter candy.
• Spread a layer of frosting on top of the third layer and place the last layer on top.
• Frost the outside of the cake and decorate the top. Chill fully for the best slicing.
• Note: To place a large chocolate bunny on the top of the cake as shown in the photos, I inserted toothpicks into the bottom of the bunny to stablize it on top of the cake:

EASTER EGG CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, tapping out any excess flour. Whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Melt the coconut oil and unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally; remove from the heat. Whisk the hot water and cocoa powder in a large bowl until smooth. Drizzle in the melted chocolate mixture, whisking until combined. Whisk in the granulated sugar and salt until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture just until smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 10 minutes in the pans, then run a knife around the edges and turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Increase the speed to medium and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the milk until smooth.
• Assemble the cake: Trim the domed tops of the cakes using a long serrated knife; transfer the scraps to a bowl. Cut each cake into 2 equal layers (leave the layers stacked). Cut both cakes in half, about 1/2 inch off-center. You will have 4 slightly smaller half moons and 4 slightly larger ones.
• Stack the 4 larger half-moons, spreading frosting between the layers. Place the stack cut-side down on a piece of parchment paper. Repeat with the smaller half-moons to make another 4-layer stack, then turn the stack cut-side down and attach it to the larger stack using more frosting
• Trim the sides of the smaller cake sandwiches to make a slightly pointed shape. Transfer the cake scraps to the bowl.
• Trim the curved top of the cake so that it has an even, rounded shape; add the scraps to the bowl. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting to the bowl of cake scraps and mash with a fork until moistened. Pat the scraps mixture around the top, bottom and sides of the cake to round it out and form an egg shape.
• Cover the entire cake in a thin layer of frosting (this is the crumb coat; it doesn¿t have to be perfect). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cover the cake with the remaining frosting, building out the egg shape where needed with more frosting. Cover the cake with rows of coarse sugar, nonpareils and candy-coated chocolates. Refrigerate until set, at least 20 minutes.

FOUR EGG YELLOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch pan.
• Cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool.

EASTER EGG HUNT CAKE

Steps:

• Special Equipment Needed:.
• Gel food coloring (I use Americolor gels in the Electric color line); set of nine round cookie cutters in graduated sizes; piping bags; Ateco piping tips #48 (ideally 2-4 of these) and #199; a silicone egg mold.
• Bake Your Cake:.
• Preheat your oven to 350°C Prepare eight 6-inch-round, 3-inch-deep (6"x3") cake pans by greasing with shortening, placing a baking paper round on the base, greasing again, and flouring. If you only have four that's fine, you can do your baking in two rounds; just divide your recipe listed above in two and make two rounds of batter.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine your egg whites, whole eggs, 1/2 cup of your milk, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine your cake flour, sugar, optional whole milk powder, baking powder, and salt and mix on low speed for a few minutes until combined.
• Add in your butter and keep mixing to begin moistening your dry ingredients for about 20 seconds. Stream in your remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, half a cup at a time, continuing to beat on the lowest speed. Raise the speed to medium and continue to beat for about 1 minute.
• Scrape your bowl, and then return the batter to low speed. Add your egg mixture in three batches, allowing each to incorporate fully before adding the next. Scrape again and mix briefly.
• Divide your cake batter into four portions, with two portions being slightly larger and two slightly smaller. Color the larger portions light blue and pink, and the smaller portions a deeper blue and yellow. I use Americolor Electric Blue, Electric Pink, and Electric Yellow in small amounts to create soft but vivid pastel colors.
• Split your light blue batter between half of your pans, alternating large spoonfulls of it with spoonfulls of your dark blue batter. Run a toothpick or a skewer through the batter, swirling gently. Repeat with the remaining cake pans using your pink and yellow batter.
• Bake your cakes for roughly 30-35 minutes, but keep an eye on them starting at minute 25. You'll know they're baked through when you press down in the center of each cake and it springs back. You can also insert a cake tester, and it should come out clean with at most a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
• Remove your cakes from the oven and allow to come to room temperature on a rack. Then, I like to wrap them up in plastic and put them in the fridge for at least half an hour, preferably overnight before I remove them from the pans. The cakes should be cold all the way through before attempting to trim them!
• Prepare Your Layers:.
• Level and torte each of the 8 small cakes into ½ inch layers.
• The best way I found to create the embedded egg shape within the cake was to label my round cutters with numbers 1-9 (1 being the largest cutter, 9 the smallest) to keep organized. The shape is created by punching holes in the blue cake and filling the holes by inserting equally sized rounds of pink cake, some of which get a further hole cut in them to create the hollow we're filling with jelly beans. I created the layers of the cake as follows:.
• Layers 1-3: Just regular blue cake layers.
• 4th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #7 used to create the pink insert.
• 5th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #3 used to create the pink insert, then the pink insert hollowed with cutter #8.
• 6th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #1 used to create the pink insert, then the pink insert hollowed with cutter #5.
• 7th Layer: Identical to layer six.
• 8th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #1 used to create the pink insert, then the pink insert hollowed with cutter #7.
• 9th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #3 used to create the pink insert.
• 10th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #5 used to create the pink insert.
• 11th Layer: Blue cake layer with cutter #9 used to create the pink insert.
• 12th Layer: Regular blue cake layer.
• 13th-14th Layer: Blue cake layer hollowed with the #1 cutter.
• Stack Your Cake:.
• Layer your cake in the order listed above, starting with Layers 1-3 to form the base and then working your way through to the 14th. As a rule of thumb, use blue buttercream to cover blue cake between layers, and pink buttercream to cover pink cake. You can be more precise if you use piping bags to lay down your buttercream.
• Once you get to the final layer where the pink has been hollowed out, layer 8, fill the cavity you've created in the cake with jelly beans, pushing them down lightly to make sure you can fit in as many as possible. Continue with your layering until you reach the top.
• Pipe a thin wall of blue buttercream along the inside of the lip of cake you've formed at the very top of the cake with your two hollow blue layers, just to give them a little extra stability. Smooth it out and place your cake in the refrigerator to firm up.
• Ice Your Cake:.
• Once your cake has had 15-20 minutes to chill, trim the caramelization off the sides. Apply a crumb coat of white buttercream and return to the refrigerator to allow it to firm up.
• Fit four pastry bags with couplers and fit two of those with Ateco #48 small basketweave tips (if you have four #48s, go ahead and fix them to all four bags). Fill the bags with pink, white, green, and yellow buttercream.
• Pipe your basketweave around the outside of the cake by creating vertical stripes alternating between pink and yellow all the way around the cake. Use your green and white to create alternating bands of buttercream "woven" into the stripes to create your basketweave look.
• Cap the basketweave with a blue piped rope border using a small open star tip of your choosing-I used an Ateco #199. Refrigerate the cake.
• Make Chocolate Eggs:.
• Melt your candy melts in the microwave, stirring frequently until no lumps of chocolate are left. Using a paintbrush, paint thin strokes of chocolate into your silicon egg mold's egg-shaped cavities, vertically or horizontally, then freeze for at least 5 minutes to allow to firm up. Fill each cavity with a different color of chocolate all the way, or add just a dollop and paint that color in to create a 1/8th inch shell. Freeze again until firm, and if you've created hollow shells, fill these with jelly beans and dollop chocolate over the top to seal the candy inches Freeze until ready to use.
• Finishing Touches:.
• Pop your chocolate eggs out of their molds by pushing firmly from the bottom until they come free.
• Pipe dollops of blue buttercream into the depression at the top of the cake and place 4-5 of your chocolate eggs inside, then sprinkle with more jelly beans to create a fun basket of candy.
• When you're ready to cut the cake, remove your eggs first, then cut straight down halfway through the cake and remove the front half to reveal your hidden candy egg inside!