Quick Crumb Coat

A week or so ago, I visited my friend Rhonda in Las Vegas for her birthday. Both her mom and her grandmother were going to bake cakes. Her grandmother always bakes her standard Lemon Cake, which involves pudding and jello and all sorts of yummy things. Her mom, Ruth, wasn't sure what cake to bake, so Rhonda consulted one of my favorite cake recipe books (which of course I always carry when traveling) - "James McNair's Cakes." Rhonda settled on one of my faves - the Red Velvet! It's an old standby for me, this recipe. I love it to bits.

So Ruth baked the cake, and had me ice it. I did a crumb coat to be sure the red wouldn't show through or get all crumbled into the top coat of the icing. I put a dab of icing on the cake plate and laid the first layer down - this helps to hold it in place. Then I iced the top of the first layer, carefully turned the second layer out on top of the first, and proceeded to coat the whole cake with a thin layer of icing. Then I set it in the refrigerator for about a half hour, making sure it was set and firm enough that it wouldn't blend into the top coat.

In the meantime, I refrigerated the remaining icing so that the consistency would stay the same and not get runny. When the crumb coat was firm, I got out the remaining icing and folded it over several times with the spatula to bring the temp up a bit and make it evenly spreadable. I coated the sides and the top with an even amount of icing, and while it was still pretty soft, I made a pattern of peaks on the sides and top by dipping the spatula into the top coat and pulling up slightly, in a random pattern. Then I set the finished cake into the refrigerator again to set the top coat. When it was ready for serving and singing, Ruth put lovely rose petals all over the cake, we got the candles lit, and sang Rhonda's birthday praises.

Both cakes were delectable!

* Note! When icing the cake, it's wise to put strips of wax paper slightly underneath the bottom layer, to protect the platter from an icing mess. Saves you from cleaning the platter before serving. (you can see this demonstrated in the top picture)