My Sisters Wedding Cakes

For my sisters wedding I volunteered to make the wedding cake and started right away trying to figure out recipes. My sisters favorite cake is Carrot with cream cheese frosting so I had to come up with a couple other flavors that go with cream cheese frosting but that are different enough that people who don't like carrot could have other choices. We settled on Blueberry Cake (which is her husband-to-be's favorite pie), Carrot for the middle layer, and red velvet for the bottom tier.

Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake (Top Tier-6 inch) 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 c. milk

2 egg whites

1/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries

1 Tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 350F, grease pan (i used a 6" pan and got a couple of cupcakes out of it too) recipe I used called for an 8" pan. I also used parchment paper in the bottom of my cake pan

Cream together butter and 1/2 c. sugar until fluffy (~3-5 min). Add salt adn vanilla. Separate eggs and reserve the whites in a clean bowl. Add egg yolks to sugar mixture and beat until creamy

Combine 1 1/2 c. Flour and baking powder. Add to sugar mixture in 2-3 parts alternating with the milk.

Coat the berries with 1 Tbsp flour and add to the batter.

In the separate bowl beat egg whites with a wire whisk attachment until soft peaks form, add 1/4 c. sugar (1 Tbsp at a time) and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold gently (in 2-3 portions) into batter. Pour into pan and bake 30-50 minutes (depending on the size of pan used) or until bamboo skewer comes out clean. Cool 5-10 minutes then remove from pan.

Carrot Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

3 c. Sifted all-purpose flour

3 c. sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking soda

2 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie spice Mix

1 1/2 c. Oil

4 eggs

1 Tbsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 c. Chopped walnuts (optional)

1 1/2 c. Shredded carrots

1 1/3 c. pureed cooked carrots (~3 jars carrot baby food)

3/4 c. crushed and drained pineapple

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two 9" round pans ( I used 1 10 inch pan lined with parchment paper and got about 6 cupcakes out as well)

Mix together oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and sugar and add to oil/egg mixture. Beat well and scrap the sides of the bowl a couple of times. Fold in carrots, pineapple, puree, and walnuts. Pour into pan and bake 30-35 minutes (it will take longer for a 10 inch pan like mine and only about 15-17 minutes for cupcakes).

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:

1/4 c shortening

1/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

4 Tbsp red food coloring

2 Tbsp unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. buttermilk

2 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp white vinegar

Grease two 9" round pans (I doubled this recipe to make one 14" pan shown above) Preheat oven to 350F

Cream shortening and butter and sugar for ~3-5 minutes (until fluffy and light). Add eggs and beat well

Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Add to creamed mixture. Mix salt, vanilla and buttermilk together (I used this to "rinse" the food coloring cup). Add milk mixture to batter alternating with flour ending with flour. Mix baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl (just before you are going to pour into pan) Fold soda/vinegar into cake batter....DON'T stir. Bake ~30min (with the "center cake pan" I only baked about 45 minutes) or until cake tester comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese softened

1 stick butter softened

2 pounds powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1-2 Tbsp milk (if needed)

Beat cream cheese and butter for 1-2 minutes, add vanilla. Start adding powdered sugar ~1/2 cup at a time until consistency and flavor is achieved, may add milk to thin icing if needed.

This was the cake I made for the Friday ceremony that only had about 20 people there. The larger cake above was for the Saturday reception.