April 2009

Easter Basket Cake

Sour Cream Cake

     ½ pound butter
     3 cups sugar
     6 eggs
     2 2/3 cups flour
     ¼ teaspoon baking soda
     1 teaspoon salt
     8 ounces sour cream
     1 tablespoon vanilla

Have all ingredients room temperature and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together until light. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating well. Sift dry ingredients. Add ½ of dry ingredients then alternate adding remaining dry with the sour cream. Grease and flour two 9 or 10 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting

     ½ pound butter
     ½ pound shortening
     2 pounds confectioners sugar
     vanilla extract (to taste)
     2 egg whites

Cream butter and shortening until light. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add flavoring and egg whites, beating until light and fluffy.

For Assembly

     1 can cherry pie filling
     2 packages marshmallow Peeps
     1 bag coconut (shake in a bag with desired food coloring)
     jelly beans
     malted milk robins eggs
     pastry bag with a plain round, basket weave, or star tip

Place one layer on a plate, cover top with icing and then top with cherry pie filling. Place second layer on top, frost entire top and sides. With plain tip, draw lines from top to bottom on sides about ½ inch apart all the way around. Beginning at the top, use the basket weave tip and pipe from edge over first plain strip stopping before second strip. Continue around entire cake. For the next line pipe from where the first line stopped over opposite line from the first row. This creates your basket weave. You should repeat this for the entire side. Each line should have opposite lines covered with the basket weave. When sides are complete, use the star tip to create a border around the top edge of the cake. Line marshmallow Peeps facing out around the inside of your border. Sprinkle colored coconut on surface of the cake. Decorate with jelly beans and malted milk eggs.