Tuesday, August 12, 2014

A Mess Free Way to Make a Sheet Cake

I went through the pantry one day last week and in doing so I found a Betty Crocker Carrot Cake mix and some Betty Crocker Fluffy White Frosting.




I like to keep things like this on hand in case something comes up at the last minute and I find myself with people stopping by and I need to quickly put something together to serve.  Or, if I plan a particularly time consuming meal and I don't have time to devote a lot of energy to the dessert, I will fall back on this.  Of course, these pantry items do not last forever.  They have a shelf life and I found these items were approaching the end of their shelf life in the not too distant future.  So I got busy in the kitchen.

I LOVE carrot cake.  Whether it is made from scratch or from a box, I love it.  And this Betty Crocker mix is absolutely supreme.


I followed the instructions on the box, which are so easy - one cup of water, two-thirds cup vegetable oil and three eggs and the mix.  I will tell you a simple thing I do and when I am making a cake that I think helps the process.  I put the water, oil and eggs (eggs brought to room temperature) all in the mixing bowl and give them a quick mix with the hand mixer first.  Just incorporate them.  No more than a few seconds.  The mixture will be foamy.  Then pour in the cake mix or your dry ingredients if making from scratch and follow the directions on the box or the recipe.  In this case we mixed it on low speed for twenty seconds and then at medium speed for two minutes.

I lined the baking dish with a sheet of parchment paper and poured the mix onto the paper.  Then into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.


After the cake has cooled, you simply lift it out of the dish by grabbing hold of the parchment paper and lifting it straight up and out.  Look!  The baking dish is perfectly clean.  Be sure to tear off a generous sheet of parchment paper so you have plenty left to grab on to when it is time to remove the cake from the dish.


After awhile, I pulled the parchment paper away from the sides.


And folded the edges under.  At this point it was cool enough to shape.  I used a large serrated bread knife to even up each side, which meant slicing off a very thin slice to enhance the shape.


Finally, a good slathering of the Fluffy White Frosting and we were set for a taste sensation.  And indeed, that is exactly what it was.  A simple and delicious and easy to make dessert that everyone will enjoy.  That is the perfect combination.


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