Get Naked...

cake. Get naked cake! The cake trend that is sweeping the Pinterest scene is naked cakes. I was a skeptic, but when done properly (not out of laziness), they can be gorgeous. There are plenty of reasons to love these crumb coated beauties.
1. It's really easy ice a cake that is known for almost no icing
2. Technically it is healthier, right? Less icing=less butter+ less sugar
3. Cakes with flowers and height are really pretty!

At first glance, naked cakes seem like a cheap trick, like you ran out of icing, or are simply too lazy to ice a cake all the way, but this method is great. With less icing, it is easier to achieve a smooth finish* and show off those beautiful layers underneath, this is especially stunning if you use small pans (I used 6 inch layers) to create several thick cakes. Downside to this, it is hard to cut, but I can guarantee that if a cake is better looking, it is better tasting. If you want an ombre effect, just add the colored frosting to the bottom (by spatula or piping bag) and spread it into icing above as you are smoothing the cake. Sticking with the "naked" theme, decorate your cake with natural items instead of swoops and swirls of frosting. I used clearance Valentine's Day carnations (always good to find a bargain), almond-raspberry macarons, meringues, strawberries, and blueberries. To make the blueberries pop, I dipped them in white luster dust, but if you don't have that, sanding sugar will achieve the same effect. Simply arrange your goodies around 3/4 of your cake and you are ready to go! Chill to set the frosting ad serve at high tea. Put on a tea dress and eat your naked cake!


*Though it's a bit of a labor of love, Swiss meringue is lighter, tastier, and frosts smoother that cream cheese frosting or American buttercream, which are super sweet.


See you for macarons,
Christina

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Tried Dessert Hummus So You Don't Have to

I'm sure we've all seen a number of increasingly strange hummus flavors surfacing in the supermarket. One of which being sweet flavors, like brownie batter. When I first heard this, I was completely appalled. Chickpeas? With chocolate? Disgusting! But then I saw some Buzzfeed article (it's always Buzzfeed) saying that it was absolutely delicious, cures cravings, tastes so chocolatey. Basically, chocolate hummus is some fudgy miracle dessert. So I had to try it, and I will try anything (within reason) once. So I found dessert hummus at Aldi, where it was just cheap enough that if it were awful, I could throw it away without feeling guilty. I had my choice between vanilla bean and fudge brownie. Obviously I went with brownie, partly because chocolate is always better and mostly because the vanilla one looked way to much like normal hummus with black specks in it. I also couldn't imagine vanilla covering up the unmistakable taste of beans. But maybe it makes sense, beans...
Read more

Tits Up, Ladies

Image
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Really is Marvelous If you haven't watched "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," what are you doing? This Prime Original is a delight to watch. Finally, a strong female lead that proves that "strong" doesn't mean physical strength or seriousness. A comedy that is smart, witty, and surprisingly relatable. A plot that is actually original. It all comes together to make a show that I can't get enough of. It is so good that I can even look past all the "four star" words that litter the sharp dialogue. But what drew me to "Mrs. Maisel," aside from Tony Shalhoub , was the the exquisite costume design. This show is a vintage girl's paradise. Midge Maisel is unapologetically fashionable. She shows up "overdressed" to every event, is always the prettiest in the room, and isn't afraid to wear heels on the subway. She's not *always* being intentionally showy, it is simply who she is: a woman that dre...
Read more

Markham & Fitz: A World of Chocolate

Image
Happy World Chocolate Day! I hope all of you celebrated with some form of chocolate, but I doubt many of you celebrated a day as chocolate filled as the one I had at Markham & Fitz. Markham & Fitz is a local chocolate maker that sources cacao from all of the world, curating unique flavor combinations in the form of bars, truffles, desserts, and beverages. I had been familiar with the expensive chocolate bars of this company formerly known as Hello, Cocoa, but I was excited to see a new storefront and cafe. What had once been just chocolate and a very tasty cocoa tea had expanded to include three sipping chocolates and a few pastries when I visited for the first time a few months ago. Coming back to Markham & Fitz for world chocolate day, I found a chic cafe filled with a much wider variety of treats. The world chocolate celebration began with a tasting of chocolates made with cocoa beans from different countries, highlighting the differences in taste based only on whe...
Read more