Cake ideas needed for hot muggy weather

11 years ago

Hi - I promised to make a cake for a friend's birthday, but the weather forecast is for unbearably hot & humid weather. I'll have to transport the cake to the party in my car, and the trip will take about 1 1/2 hours. None of my usual favorites will hold up to the weather or the trip.

Any ideas? The cake can be any flavor, any type, as long as it has broad appeal.

Oh, and it has to be superb (or at the very least, very, very good). I have a reputation to uphold.

Thanks!

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Comments (9)

lindac
11 years ago
Well...I would make a fairly heavy cake and frost it when you arrive. Or make a cake that's served with a "sauce" like this....which is also very good with a chocolate ganache!!

RASPBERRY FRANGIPANE CAKE (Serves 12)
This is good made the day before and covered with plastic wrap.

7 oz. almond paste
7 oz. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 eggs
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups whole raspberries

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan. (I like to
use a springform pan.)
Use a food processor or a mixer w/ a paddle attachment to cream the almond
paste, butter, and sugar until smooth and light. (Some almond pastes stay
chunky for a while.) Add the vanilla and eggs, beating well and scraping
down the sides of the bowl after each addition. By hand, gently fold in the
flour until the batter is just barely combined. Fold in the raspberries.
Avoid overmixing, or the cake will be tough. Pour the batter into the
prepared pan and bake until the top is nicely brown and a toothpick comes out
clean, about 50-55 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the pan.
Serve this moist cake plain, or in a pool of raspberry sauce, or with whipped
cream topped with a few raspberries.

(Raspberry sauce: Press 2 c. raspberries through a fine strainer to puree
them and remove seeds. Make a simple syrup by stirring together 3 tbsp.
water and 1/4 c. sugar in a small saucepan and bringing to a boil. Cool.
Stir the puree and simple syrup together. Keeps in the refrigerator for a
week, or freeze.)
dgkritch
11 years ago
Angel food.
With fresh fruit and real whipped cream (buy cream on your way through town or haul in a cooler and make it when you get there).

Deanna
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azzalea
11 years ago
Something like a 1-2-3-4 cake served with fresh fruit would be good.

Of course, most cakes, even frosted, will be fine for the trip if you put them in a cooler with ice. Freeze ice in plastic bottles with tight-fitting lids, put the ice in the bottom of the cooler, place a cookie sheet on top of that, and your cake on that. Alternatively, if you have one of those fantastic coolers that plugs into your cigarette lighter, you won't need to fuss with ice. Better yet, if you have an outlet in your car (I do) just take the kids' college fridge along.
dilettante_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Linda -- The Raspberry Frangipane Cake would be perfect! Simple and sophisticated. And it sounds delicious. Great idea!

Deanna, I love angel food cake, but I'm not sure it would hold up as well to the extreme humidity we'll be getting. (Heat yes, humidity no.) At least, that's been my experience. Too bad, because I like lighter desserts when the weather's hot. And nothing can top an angel food cake made from scratch.

Thanks for the suggestions, Azzalea. Anything with fruit is good in my book. I'm going to go with Linda's cake this time because I love to try new recipes and it's a bit more exotic (at least, in my circle) than traditional layer cakes. Plus, I don't have the gear to keep a traditional cake cool in transit. I don't own a cooler large enough for a cake carrier, and I most certainly do not want to brave the heat, humidity and the crowds (the 3 things I hate most) tomorrow to buy one. (Tomorrow and Sunday are tax-free days in MA, and people go CRAZY just to save 6.25%.)

Thanks, all!
teresa_nc7
11 years ago
I'd make a pound cake and take some fresh fruit and whipping cream in a cooler to fix when you get there. You just can't beat a good pound cake, that's what I always say!

Teresa
dilettante_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Linda, I just wanted to let you know that I made your Raspberry Frangipane Cake, and it was a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it. Great taste and texture, and no problems with the weather or the transport. It was super easy, too -- just one bowl, only a few ingredients, and very quick to put together (no chopping, melting, separating eggs, or any of those other little steps that add to the prep time). I will definitely make this one of my core recipes. Next time, though, I'll add just a pinch of salt.

Oh, and I made the simple syrup for the raspberry sauce in a glass measuring cup in my microwave - no saucepan to wash.

Thank you so much for the recipe!
lindac
11 years ago
I'll pass the accolades on to Cathy....who sent me the recipe....or rather who made the cake that made me ask for the recipe.
Glad it worked well....all cakes don't have to be 2 or 3 layers with frosting to be yummy.
compumom
11 years ago
It sounds like a delicious recipe, I'm glad it was a success! Coincidentally, the radio food program on Saturday was discussing this same issue. Melinda Lee recommended Dr Oetker's Cake Carrier.
Who knew? LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Cake Carrier
pat_t
11 years ago
Linda - do you think that recipe could be made successfully with blueberries? I'm not a big raspberry fan.

Cake ideas needed for hot muggy weather

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lindac

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Cake ideas needed for hot muggy weather

Comments (9)

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