You saw a cake that you want to make, but the recipe is just too complicated.... what to do, what to do? You ask The Queen, that's what you do!
This picture and request came from Sarah, and she's a bit lost. You see, Sarah admits that she's not much of a wiz in the kitchen.... so she wanted to know the "easiest" way (that she quote "won't screw this up!") to make a cake like this.
Well Sarah, you came to the right place. I'm all about easy (hehehe) and I know that baking can be pretty tricky. Cooking is a lot easier in my opinion.... because baking is all about formulas. You have to use exact measurements, ingredients, and some complicated techniques. So it can be a little intimidating. But have no fear, The Queen is here. Just remember, instant cake mixes and frostings were invented for a reason, my dear Halloweenies! If you don't trust yourself slaving over a recipe, run to the grocery store, and pick up a box of red velvet cake mix, (and whatever ingredients you'll need, that will be listed on the box) 2 tubs of cream cheese frosting, and some black food coloring.
Make sure you have the proper cake pans (you'll need 2, 8 or 9 inch rounds) and prep the pans according to the instructions on the cake mix.Pre-heat the oven, and prepare the cake batter. Once it's done, and in the oven, set the timer (very important!) and you can start mixing up the frosting.
Take 1 tub of frosting, and with a plastic spatula, pour it into a mixing bowl. Add a few drops of the black food coloring, and mix well. Keep adding a few drops at a time, until it's the shade of black that you want. Set aside.
Now, take the other tub, and so the same thing, in another mixing bowl. You'll use one bowl of frosting to cover the cake, and the other to make the rose design.
Once the cake is completely cool, you'll icing the first layer, then place the second layer on top, and icing the whole cake.
Now for the rose design..... You may want to grab a butter knife and practice making swirls in the remaining bowl of frosting. Take a big gob of frosting on the knife, and make a simple swirl pattern, (but don't press down too hard, or you may tear the cake!) once you've got the feel of it, do it over and over again, on the top and sides of the cake.
Use the above picture as a guide, and remember.... it doesn't have to look exactly like the picture. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time.
And if the idea of doing a whole cake is just too frightening, you can always do a practice run on a batch of cupcakes. That way you'll get a lot of practice making swirl roses.
And if you're still not happy with that, you can always eat the evidence!
Good luck, Sarah! I know you'll do great! The Queen is always here to help.
