OK, I have several questions as this is my first cake and I'm practicing for next week's (2nd) class...

1. I used a boxed mix and 9in. pans and I decided to use just egg whites (but following the box instructions). Is this why my cake wasn't very puffy and rather thin?

2. The cake was very crumbly and it shows throughout the icing. Does that have to do with the brand or maybe because I didn't use whole eggs?

3. How the heck do you get the icing down to the bottom of the cake w/out getting it all over the cakeboard?

I was really hoping for better results even though this is my first cake using the Wilton Icing. I wish my instructor had showed us how to ice so I'm not sure I'm doing things right and I'm just going by what the coursebook shows. Any tips?

THANKS!

Welcome! #3- put pieces of wax paper just under the edges of the cake between the cake and cake board. when done frosting, pull out was paper.

Not sure if your cake was crumbly because of the lack of egg yolk, but that may be why your cake is not fluffy. Eggs (along with sugar, butter and chemical leaveners ) create air bubbles that expand and leaven the cake while baking. If you want to go a lighter route maybe try egg substitute next time.

#1. It's possible you needed more batter. Were you making a white cake and that's why you only used the whites?

#2. If it's really crumbly I find that I have either over mixed it and incorporated too much air into the batter or overbaked it. Cakes go from being not quite done to overdone in a split second. To prevent the crumbs in the icing, do a crumb coat and then follow up with a good frosting coat.

Thanks for all of the advice!

I used the whites to try to be a little healthier but along with the cake coming out pretty flat, I wasn't crazy about the taste, either. I don't think I overbaked it b/c I was watching it closely, but who knows?

The cake is white and I'm thinking that I may change to a scratch cake from now on. I'll give the boxed ones another shot and will switch brands, too, just to see if there's a big difference.

I used the Wilton Icing out of the small tub and, WOW, is that stuff sweet! Even my little girl didn't want a second helping! Is there a tried and true BC that is a little easier on the taste buds?

Ndext time try whipping the egg whites too a medium-stiff peak first. Then just foldthem in gently. That usually works for me.

If you're using a 9" pan, each pan needs to have about 5 - 5 1/2 cups of batter. One cake mix will not be enough to have two tall layers. I have found that each box mix is approximately 5-6 cups of batter. I learned this the hard way too, because our instructor told us nothing about that either and when we made our cakes for the final class, they were flat as pancakes!
If you have any of the Wilton books, there is a guide in them that tells how much batter you need for each sized pan. If you don't, I think the rule of thumb is fill your pan 2/3 full. I'm horrible at judging, which is why I follow the Wilton guides.

Adding the egg yolks helps contribute to a rich flavor and a better texture. I do not know if this is what made it so crumbly, but I bet it contributed to it. Also, I would suggest you try another boxed cake mix before switching to homemade. Boxed cake mixes are much more convienent in my opinion and have things in them that we cannot add which helps them last much longer (ie... emulsifiers and leavening agents) and taste better. I have found that I prefer Duncan Hines if I do not want pudding in the mix and Pillsbury if I do. Hope this helps!

Wow, what great tips! I just sent my husband out for more mix and now I'll have to tell him to double my order! lol

I tried Betty Crocker this time and my instructor said she likes Pillsbury. I'll give the Duncan Hines a shot, too, and see which I like the best.

Any thoughts on a good BC?

Thanks, again!

The buttercream recipe in the front of Wilton course book 1 is good for decorating your cake--and most kids like it okay (and some adults). For frosting the cake, I like to use half butter and half Crisco. It's a little harder to get smooth, but it tastes a lot better. You can also add flavorings like lemon extract or orange extract to vary the taste of your frosting.

If you use have butter and half Crisco, I like Butter Flavored Crisco, put the butter and Crisco in your mixer together and really cream them, it makes it really smooth. It also depends on how soft your butter is. I like my butter really soft. I tend to forget to take it out of the frezzer before I need it. If you put your microwave on half power and turn it on for ten seconds and watch it, it becomes defrosted rather quickly, but without melting it. You just have to keep turning the stick for each ten seconds.

Doesn't the butter turn the icing yellowish?

The butter will turn it a bit yellow but if you do the half crisco half butter thing, and use the Wilton whitening stuff it will not be too yellow. As far as the egg whites... I have not had a problem with just using egg whites and I would suggest trying again. I too use either Duncan Hines or Pillsbury. As far as the sweetness in the frosting, add the pinch of salt to the class buttercream recipe, it cuts down the sweetness a bit.

It is a shame the instructor didn't tell you how to ice your cake...they should have as well as told you what to expect. I found the hardest part about decorating is the initial frosting when I first started. It is okay to have some crumbs in the crumb coat especially when just starting out.

Thanks, iceberg. I was really hoping my instructor would show us how to ice but she just told us to bring an iced cake to our 2nd class and that was it. Oh well. Thank goodness I have you guys! I'm going to try to add some salt and I guess if I color my icing then adding the butter won't make a difference anyway. There are so many icings to try!