Favorite cake EVER, and preparing them in advance
I'm planning to bake some cakes for my sister's wedding ceremony and I need some ideas on what to make and how to prepare them in advance. So far I'm planning to bake:
1. Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. This is a favorite of my sister, and I'm going to use my fav recipe from Billy Reece.
2. barefoot contessa's Coconut cupcake. I've heard so much raving about this recipe but I could never find any excuse to use that much fat before. Has any of you tried it? Your thought on it?
3. Spice cake. So far, I'm planning to use Silver Palate's carrot cake since it's my favorite and top it with orange cream cheese frosting.
What I'm asking you is
1. What do you think of my selection? My main hesitation is if they're not diverse enough since both coconut cupcakes and the carrot cake both use cream cheese frosting and coconut ingredients. Plus they all have white frosting that looks similar with similar consistency and taste, although I can add coloring to them. No chocolate because someone will bring it, I'm sure.
2. What's your favorite cake recipe, EVER? Have you tried the recipes I'd use? How did it compare?
3. How should I prepare the cakes? You see, my house is going to be chaotic and I need to go to salon and whatnot, so I have to bake them several days in advance. I know I could freeze the cake, make the icing and ice it the day but I'm afraid that I wouldn't have enough time? Can I bake the cake, frost them and store them for around three days and have them taste good and not soggy? I live in the tropics, so I'd have to refrigerate them right? Can anyone give me any idea how to work this out?
4. Should I bake them in mini muffin tins for mini cupcakes or just use basic square pan and cut them into squares for minimum frosting hassle? For recipes that make 30 cupcakes, how many 8" square pans do I need?
I'm quite an experienced baker but I really would like to keep the hassle minimum. Thanks so much guys.
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6 Comments:
In the professional world, cakes are regularly baked and the icing begun (if not finished) days in advance of the delivery date. It's harder with cupcakes, because the frosting doesn't necessarily cover the whole exposed surface of the cake, so I'd seal them in airtight containers after icing them, and possibly freezing them as well, if you're going to ice them more than, say, 2 days in advance. If it was me, I'd get some of the rectangular containers that work with my Food Saver vacuum sealer, and pump all the air out, but keeping a slice of bread in the container with the cupcakes works pretty well, too. They shouldn't get soggy; the big worry is them going stale.
If your frosting is soft enough when freshly made, you can dip-and-twist to ice the cupcakes, which makes it go really quickly. If your sister wants cupcakes, make cupcakes in paper liners (and leave those liners on!), not cut up square cakes. They're very different experiences. Also, for a wedding, I'd recommend regular cupcakes, not minis.
thepictsie at 5:47AM on 06/18/07
I have made Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes, and they are yummy! I actually like the idea of an all white theme, so maybe you put the carrot cake cupcakes separate, on a gorgeous platter. If you are using one of those cupcake tree holders,put all the white ones(including coconut) together, and it will look like a wedding cake. You could throw fresh flowers on there, as they do for many wedding cakes today. The comment from thepictsie seem pretty right on to me. I have frozen cakes and cupcakes a week in advance, wrapped carefully. As far as the frosting, you can make it a few days ahead and then put it back in the Kitchen aid, as it will harden. You could use a pastry bag to decorate them. If you are adept with th bag, it can go pretty quickly.
Mich23 at 9:19AM on 06/18/07
I have made Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes, and they are yummy! I actually like the idea of an all white theme, so maybe you put the carrot cake cupcakes separate, on a gorgeous platter. If you are using one of those cupcake tree holders,put all the white ones(including coconut) together, and it will look like a wedding cake. You could throw fresh flowers on there, as they do for many wedding cakes today. The comment from thepictsie seem pretty right on to me. I have frozen cakes and cupcakes a week in advance, wrapped carefully. As far as the frosting, you can make it a few days ahead and then put it back in the Kitchen aid, as it will harden. You could use a pastry bag to decorate them. If you are adept with th bag, it can go pretty quickly.
Mich23 at 9:20AM on 06/18/07
Winny I'm makinga cupcake tower for my daughter's wedding. You mention vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting recipe from Billy Reece. Who is he and where can I get the recipes?
Richard1 at 9:30PM on 06/19/07
You can find the recipe online here Read the comments as well.
winny at 10:41PM on 06/19/07
I've eaten the cupcakes at Billy's, and thought they were okay(but better than Magnolias) I have a recipe I was given in a baking course. For me, it is better: 4 eggs, 2cups sugar, 2tsp. vanilla, 3 cups self-rising flour, 1 pint heavy cream Preheat oven to 350, In a large bowl beat eggs til foamy, Add sugar to eggs and beat til light and fluffy , Add vanilla and beat until blended, Alternately add flour and cream, beat til well blended . I use a 9 1/4" x 13" x 2" pan ,greased and floured, or cupcake tins. I think it makes btween 30 -40 cupcakes. Try this recipe, and then you can choose your favorite.
Mich23 at 5:13PM on 06/20/07