Polka Dot Christmas Fun
This little test-kitchen cake was all about me messin’ around in the kitchen. I was working on tinting cake batter as well as looking for a really wonderful green. This White Cake is delicious (vanilla and almond flavors) and versatile…it also tastes like every wedding cake I ever ate while growing up in Missouri.
This is a 6″, triple-layer, surprise inside cake. I’ve baked polka dot before and it’s super fun. What I hadn’t baked until this effort was a 6″ polka dot cake… and it was just too small for the large dots. I’ve never considered the ratio of dot size to cake size before. It was a good discovery I wasn’t even looking to find.
For the polka dots, I use this amazing Nordicware Pop Pan. I use the same batter as the cake and simply tint it to match the party, event, team colors, etc. In order to not over-bake the dots, I under bake them (baking for 11 minutes) – they’ll hold their shape and continue baking while in the cake round.
Just out of the pan, the dots have a bit of ‘fringe’ that I trim off with a pair of scissors..
These wonderful polka dots are ready to bake in the cake round.
It’s important to cover the cake pop/polka dot with the remaining cake batter.
Experimenting with color, I matched the vanilla buttercream to the polka dots.
Hot tip: When tinting buttercream, use gel food coloring instead of liquid…this will help prevent the buttercream from separating.
Cake with a complete crumb coat.
I really loved this simple look especially since it’s incredibly difficult for me to edit myself. And, I just couldn’t help but enjoy the clean lines of this lovely Christmas cake.
I almost stopped here… but added just a bit more color with the Candy Cane Hershey Kisses on a little swirl of Vanilla Buttercream. I like them both and absolutely can’t decide which I prefer more.
I love time to work things out in the test kitchen and figuring what works and what doesn’t.
I think the polka dots are a bit too big for this smaller cake. And, I know it still delicious!
What a great day to have time in the kitchen and the unending support of my partner. And sobriety.
