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How can I "strengthen" a cake mix to hold up to decorating??


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As box cake mixes have always turned out flimsy and spongy for me, when I'm baking a cake that I intend to decorate, I usually bake from scratch, but PDG REALLY wanted a pink strawberry-flavored cake, and I couldn't find a recipe anywhere, or a strawberry extract or flavoring to accomplish this.

 

Any suggestions how I can amend a Pillsbury strawberry flavored cake mix to make it firmer, more dense, and able to hold up to the frosting, not getting soggy overnight as I'm decorating it a day ahead? (It's going to be baked in a Wilton butterfly-shaped pan that has a standard 2-layer cake capacity.)

 

I looked on the Cake Doctor website and message boards, but the suggestions there are more about really changing a cake mix into something different...I can't find an answer on just making it stronger.

 

TIA!

Edited by BikeBookBread
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Try adding one box of vanilla pudding mix -- the "cook" kind, not instant. Usually, you'd add a little more oil if you added the vanilla pudding, but in this case, just put the amount of liquid/oil called for on the box.

 

Be sure to crumb coat the layers and let the crumb coat harden before decorating, and it ought to hold up just fine.

 

I've decorated many strawberry cakes this way.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

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My grandmother used to bake and decorate cakes, she always used Betty Crocker. On the Betty Crocker website it says they make strawberry cake mix, and I've always thought that it was a bit stiffer than Pillsbury.

I also bake the occasional cake now, and when I decorate I use her butter cream icing recipe, and I do the cake a day or two ahead and they've always held up well.

I'm not sure if that's helpful at all, just figured it was worth a shot.

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Try adding one box of vanilla pudding mix -- the "cook" kind, not instant. Usually, you'd add a little more oil if you added the vanilla pudding, but in this case, just put the amount of liquid/oil called for on the box.

 

Be sure to crumb coat the layers and let the crumb coat harden before decorating, and it ought to hold up just fine.

 

I've decorated many strawberry cakes this way.

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

 

THANKS! I just love this site! :):grouphug:

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My grandmother used to bake and decorate cakes, she always used Betty Crocker. On the Betty Crocker website it says they make strawberry cake mix, and I've always thought that it was a bit stiffer than Pillsbury.

I also bake the occasional cake now, and when I decorate I use her butter cream icing recipe, and I do the cake a day or two ahead and they've always held up well.

I'm not sure if that's helpful at all, just figured it was worth a shot.

 

Thanks! I usually get BC, and the store where I bought the mix didn't have strawberry...I think I'll try another store tonight.

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happy_birthday_cake_stickers_in_chic_pink-p217101036083844451qjcl_400.jpg

 

Yes, it is going to look JUST like this! :lol::lol::lol: I'll be lucky if it resembles a butterfly!!!! I'll save you some.

 

I have gotten into the habit of telling the girls about DC/NOVA-area weather (because of our upcoming move this summer) and they are thrilled to hear you are anticipating a blizzard. Sorry!

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I've made plenty of cakes (used to do wedding cakes). I have done scratch, and many brands of box mix with no problems. I would suggest you bake the cake a a day ahead of time. Do NOT cover with plastic wrap or foil. just cover it with a towel. It should be sufficiently firm to withstand decorations by the next day. I have not had any problems with dryness doing it this way either. Good luck and Happy celebrating!:)

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I've made plenty of cakes (used to do wedding cakes). I have done scratch, and many brands of box mix with no problems. I would suggest you bake the cake a a day ahead of time. Do NOT cover with plastic wrap or foil. just cover it with a towel. It should be sufficiently firm to withstand decorations by the next day. I have not had any problems with dryness doing it this way either. Good luck and Happy celebrating!:)

 

The party is Sunday afternoon. So should I bake it tonight (Friday evening), decorate Saturday night and let it sit out for Sunday afternoon? I'm using (way too sweet, but the girls love it) Wilton decorating icing rather than making scratch. I'm not worried about spoilage or refrigeration, but the texture of the cake.

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Yes, it is going to look JUST like this! :lol::lol::lol: I'll be lucky if it resembles a butterfly!!!! I'll save you some.

 

I have gotten into the habit of telling the girls about DC/NOVA-area weather (because of our upcoming move this summer) and they are thrilled to hear you are anticipating a blizzard. Sorry!

 

No need to apologize -- I probably wouldn't be nearly as tired of it if we were in our house........and, I KNEW your cake would look just like THAT one!:D

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The party is Sunday afternoon. So should I bake it tonight (Friday evening), decorate Saturday night and let it sit out for Sunday afternoon? I'm using (way too sweet, but the girls love it) Wilton decorating icing rather than making scratch. I'm not worried about spoilage or refrigeration, but the texture of the cake.

 

That may be a bit too much time. If you are able to bake it Saturday morning, decorate it Saturday night then it will be fine for Sunday afternoon. If Saturday night is the only time you have to decorate, go ahead and bake it Friday, cover with a towel and stick in your microwave or closed oven (not turned on) to act as a deterrent to drying out and then decorate it when you can Saturday evening. After it is iced, the icing will keep it from drying out and ruining the texture.

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I've made plenty of cakes (used to do wedding cakes). I have done scratch, and many brands of box mix with no problems. I would suggest you bake the cake a a day ahead of time. Do NOT cover with plastic wrap or foil. just cover it with a towel. It should be sufficiently firm to withstand decorations by the next day. I have not had any problems with dryness doing it this way either. Good luck and Happy celebrating!:)

 

:iagree: I always bake the day before too. If you need to bake on Friday night, let the cake cool 100% and put it in an air tight container over night. Or leave it out over night and put it in the container in the morning, until you take it out to ice.

 

Rosie

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I do a lot of cake decorating and the recipe I have found works best is:

I substitute the white cake mix for other flavors and you can use different flavor oils too. I use Duncan Hines mixes.

 

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (WASC)

 

Ingredients

 

2 boxes white cake mix

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teas. salt

8 egg whites

2 2/3 cups water

4 Tbls. vegetable oil

2 cups (16oz carton) sour cream

2 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor

2 teaspoons almond extract

Instructions

 

Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

***One recipe makes: one 14″ round + one 6″ round

or one 16″ round

or one 12″ round + one 10″ round

or one 12×18″ sheet cake

or one 12″ round + one 8″ round + one 6″

Half a recipe makes: two 8″ rounds

or two 6″ rounds + 6 cupcakes

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I do a lot of cake decorating and the recipe I have found works best is:

I substitute the white cake mix for other flavors and you can use different flavor oils too. I use Duncan Hines mixes.

 

 

I used this method (halved) using the strawberry cake mix and 4 whole eggs instead of whites, and can I just say that it was the BEST cake I've ever made! Thanks so, so much! The kids actually ate the CAKE not only the frosting!

 

Now if only SOMEONE had taken a picture of it...it turned out very cute. There's a video, and I'm going to try to do a screen capture of a frame. I don't know if this geriatric computer has software to do it, though. :glare:

 

Thanks again!

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Any suggestions how I can amend a Pillsbury strawberry flavored cake mix to make it firmer, more dense, and able to hold up to the frosting, not getting soggy overnight as I'm decorating it a day ahead?

 

 

Freeze it first, and frost it frozen. Can't get much firmer than that!

 

Our old friend, Robin in TX, always freezes cakes before frosting them. I froze my ds's guitar cake, and had no trouble frosting it. It barely even crumbed the frosting (it was a devil's food cake with white frosting). It thawed beautifully within an hour, and tasted delicious.

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