I'm not a huge cake fan, but I like decorating them. Rob loves, them - so I am experimenting more with them and finding stuff we both like (as if I need the help finding good treats).
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If you like baking, hopefully these help. Oh, and soon I'll post my favorite chocolate cake recipe - it's kind of my catch all - and I don't think it's failed me yet.
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I'm a big fan of using dry cake mix, from a box, then I just add to it. There's actually a book called The Cake Doctor, and what it does is "doctor" cake mixes. That's where my favorite chocolate cake recipe comes from (via my sister, Bethany-thanks!), and it's where my quest to bake good cakes began.
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So, back to the tips:
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Every cake can use a little extra pudding - for a chocolate cake, add chocolate pudding - for every other cake, I add vanilla (unless you can find an box of instant pudding that matches your cake flavor). I just add a small box of pudding, and no changes need to be made to the mixing or baking instructions.
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Also - I add milk instead of water (to any mix)- makes things a little creamier. It's good.
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A baking tip (making decorating easier) - to make even cake tops
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When you bake with round cake pans . . . you know how they always round out on top, too? Well . . . if you get an old towel and tear off two strips (the long way), making them as wide as the cake pan is tall - - - wet the towels, then secure them around the cake pan with either a safety pin or even a push pin (won't melt in the oven at 350 - I tested it, personally). That helps distribute the heat more evenly, and the cake will rise, but stay flat on top. I'll try and post photos soon, just to explain. This beats cutting off cake tops (making them flat), especially because it minimizes crumbs that can potentially spread through the icing.
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Last tip - instead of using icing or frosting in the middle layer of cakes - spread some pudding - again, makes things more moist. You can make some instant pudding and spread about a cup, or just buy a pack of pudding snacks and use one - I've done both.
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Random things - hopefully something is useful to you. :)
Guy and his uncle Ed - a Delaware State Trooper
One Friday we went to the Franklin Institute. There was a small mirror maze in one of the areas. It was Guy's favorite part of the institute - I took him back through for a second run since he got such a kick out of it.
After the Franklin Institute, we went to Dave & Busters.
Amidst all the noise (it's a huge arcade . . . like an adult-sized Chuck E Cheese), Guy was able to sleep, thankfully - he REALLY needed that nap (he had had a very rough teething day).
Guy and Abuela-he loved spending time outside with her (in the evening, when it was cooler)
While we were visiting, we hit our 2 year anniversary. That evening Rob's parents were able to watch Guy while we went out to dinner at a pub in Dover. Dinner was good, and we had a nice view of this lake from our booth.
Next - it was the end of the month, and after calling my visiting teachees a few times, I never reached them, so on the 31st, I decided to drop something off. Really, I mostly just wanted an excuse to try making these:
Also for Rob's birthday . . . I won't go into my failed attempt at a Spiderman cake - I'm just glad that out of the 2 cake mixes I made, there was an extra layer, not used for what became a little messy. Not as fun as a Spiderman cake, but pretty good, still--I cut the 9x9 cake into 4 pieces, stacked, and decorated it just for Rob.
He was really good at kicking and seemed to have a pretty good time the whole time. He cried just a little right when he got in, but warmed up to it pretty quickly - spending more than half an hour in there.
