Rainbow-Surprise Lemon Cake & Surprise-Inside Cakes Cookbook Giveaway

Traditionally frosting is the star of cake decorating, but what about the inside? Amanda Rettke proves that it’s the inside that counts with her cookbook, “Surprise-Inside Cakes”.

When it comes to decorating cakes I am not an expert. Upon receiving the Surprise-Inside Cakes cookbook by Amanda Rettke (I Am Baker) I was a bit intimidated to go beyond the recipes for different layers of color and/or frosting without any cutting and cake-puzzle-assembling. It is truly impressive how many different interiors she was able to design and execute. But after reading through a few of the more complicated recipes I realized that with the right tools and some patience, paired with her excellent step-by-step photos and directions, I might be able to pull it off.

I really loved the smiley face cake and argyle cake but decided to start out small with one of the easier recipes – the rainbow cake. First I had to decide on a cake flavor. Amanda provides recipes for perfectly level cakes and frostings which can be used to create any of the surprise-inside cakes. However, you could also use your own recipe or even a boxed mix, I won’t tell. If using other recipes you may end up with a domed top which will need to be leveled off, unless of course you know that particular recipe does come out flat. Either way, a cake with these interior designs will look made from scratch no matter what recipe you choose.

To see if a boxed mix would work, I decided to doctor up a white cake mix to create a lemon cake. (Did you know that rainbows taste like lemons? Well, at least this one does.) The cakes did dome but that was easily solved by slicing off the tops with a long serrated knife. After that I followed Amanda’s detailed instructions for assembling and frosting the cakes. I don’t think I’ve ever frosted such a smooth cake before.

Upon that beautiful white scene I created my own balloon decorations using the cake-top scraps and leftover frosting. It looks like fondant doesn’t it!? Nope it’s something even better, something I have decided to call cake-ball-fondant! Yup, I am a genius. Instead of forming balls to be dipped in chocolate, roll flat with a rolling pin and cut out shapes with cookies cutters. Consider your mind blown.

In order to find out exactly how I colored and assembled this cake you’ll have to read about it in the Surprise-Inside Cakes cookbook! To assist in keeping a copy into your hands asap I am giving away a copy of this awesome cookbook to one lucky reader. After checking out the recipe use the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post to enter.

One year ago: Baked Eggs with Crispy Hash Brown Crust

Two years ago: Cheesy Cat Treats

Three years ago: Funfetti Cake Batter Smoothie

LEMON CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Serves 12-16

Ingredients:

CAKE

1 box white cake mix

3 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon extract

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vanilla or plain Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

FROSTING

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 8-inch cake pans (or three 6-inch cake pans).
2. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, lemon juice, extract, milk and sour cream until smooth. Sift in cake mix*.
3. Divide evenly between prepared baking pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes (25-28 minutes for 6-inch) or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. While the cake cools, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until blended. Add the sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of milk or more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency. Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff before using. (May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.)
5. Once the cake is cool, slice off the top to level if necessary. Frost the top of one cake, stack the other on top and finish frosting. Decorate if desired. (I mixed up the cake-top scraps and leftover frosting, rolled out like sugar cookie dough, and cut out circles and little triangles to make balloons. The “strings” are piped black frosting.)

* To find out how I made the inside of this cake, pick up a copy of Surprise-Inside Cakes by Amanda Rettke.

Source: Cake adapted from Your Cup of Cake, cake interior from Surprise-Inside Cakes, and frosting adapted from my Green Velvet Cake.

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of Surprise-Inside Cakes by Jill Browning PR. Giveaway provided by Jill Browning PR. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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