Bachelorette Cake

Google "Bachelorette Party Cakes."  We dare you!  (just don't do it at work...)  You'll be sure to find some interesting search results to say the least.  Bachelorette party cakes are fun, but tend to be a little too... well... smutty for our taste.  Tall One knew she wanted serve cake and champagne at her friend's party, but definitely did not want to bake anything that resembled any part of the male body, as is commonly seen at bachelorette events.  So where did she turn for inspiration?  Pinterest of course!  And she stumbled upon an idea that she absolutely had to re-create.   This cake is a creative way to poke some fun at the bride at the bride before her last night out, without making anyone feel uncomfortable.  And just for the record, our bachelorette made out much better than the girl on the cake at the end of the night :)

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
-1 strawberry box cake (or the box cake of your choice)
-Additional ingredients called for on the back of the box
-3/4 cup flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 egg
-1 Tbs cooking oil
-1/3 cups water
-1 tsp vanilla

Frosting
-3 sticks butter
-2 pound bag powdered sugar
-1 1/2 Tbs vanilla
-6 Tbs milk (approx)
-Food coloring

For decoration:
-Small doll (from the dollar store)
-Sprinkles
-Additional frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare two 9 inch round baking pans by greasing, flouring, and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.  We highly suggest using the parchment paper whenever making a layer cake.  The little bit of extra work in the beginning saves you a lot of headache later.

For the cake we used an "Enhance a Box Cake" recipe that one of our friends would make in college all the time.  This really is a great way to bring the old fashion box mix to the next level.  In a large bowl, prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the back of the box.  Then add all of the additional ingredients and mix well.  We actually like to combine all of the dry ingredients, mix in the wet ingredients, and then finally add the eggs.  Once all of the ingredients are combined, beat the batter on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Pour the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans before flipping them out and allowing them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

For the frosting, beat 3 sticks of room temperatutre butter on high speed until light and fluffy.  Add about half of the suguar, 1 cup at a time, and beat on medium speed until well combined.  Add the vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds.  Finally alternate adding the remaining powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time) and the milk (1 Tbs at a time), beating after each addition, until the desired consistency is reached.  The amount of milk required will vary depending on weather and temperature.

Set about 1 cup of frosting aside and use the food coloring to dye it to a desired hue to fill the cake (we used teal since that is one of Katie's wedding colors).  Set another half cup aside and use the food coloring to create a different color used for the piping on top of the cake.  We chose pink which is Katie's other color.  Leave the remaining frosting white.

To assemble the cake, place the first layer on a large serving plate.  Top the layer with the colored frosting (ours was teal) and spread it evenly so it almost reaches the edges of the cake.  Top the frosting with the other layer.  Use a large spatula to frost the entire cake with the white buttercream.

To decorate, we edged the cake with red and pink sprinkles.  We then laid the doll on her back with her shoe and purse astrew.  We finally used the pink frosting in a piping bag fit with the Wilton #2 tip to write on the cake.  Our cake said "Katie's Last Fling Before The Ring" which was the theme for the weekend.

Use these ideas or decorate your cake in a way that is fitting for your bride-to-be!

XOXO,
Tall and Small