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A Note from the Doctor
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Next Issue: October

It's August, temperatures are soaring nearly everywhere, and yet I am still baking up a storm. I don't know if these books would have ever been possible before air conditioning because for some reason my testing deadlines always loom during the long, hot summer.

But the beauty of this warm weather work is that I may bake an almond pound cake and then spoon sweet ripe peaches on top of it. Or, I may bake a chocolate and raspberry birthday cake and soothe the summer palate by serving a generous scoop of cold vanilla ice cream on the side. Cake, I have discovered, is suited to the summer. In fact, it is seasonless.

I don't care what some folks say about the fall baking season; cake baking takes place all year long. So, just keep on baking and sharing those great tips and recipes on the Community Board. If you haven't yet tried the stupendous Apple Spice Cake, created by Diana Crawford of Martinsburg, WV, winner of our recent All-America Cake Mix Doctor Bake-for-Charity Contest, do so as those local apples start appearing in the your market. By the way, Diana designated the Berkeley County (West Virginia)Humane Society as the recipient of her $1,000 prize. It will help pay for a much-needed roof over the dog kennel. And by all means try the easy Dream cake variations in Recipe Swap. They're perfect for that summer birthday, anniversary, wedding, or Labor Day picnic cake.
Enjoy!
Anne

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Yellow Dream Cake

Carol McMillion of Catawba, VA, sends in this recipe, one she has used since the 1970s. She got the recipe off an old Jell-O pudding box. My family loved this cake, and it baked up tall and perfect in two 9-inch layers. I frosted it with my Quick Caramel Frosting, and it was a superb mid-summer caramel cake. I would also recommend it for wedding cake, as it is moist yet sturdy and could withstand a lot of frosting!

Makes 16 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 30 to 35 minutes

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) "cook and serve" vanilla pudding mix
1 envelope (1.3 ounces) Dream Whip whipped topping mix
3 large eggs
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil


Quick Caramel Frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round pans (at least 1 1/2 inches deep) with solid vegetable shortening and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, Dream Whip, eggs, water, and oil in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 4 minutes longer, or until the batter is well combined and the volume has increased.

3. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and place them in the oven side by side. Bake until they are deeply browned and the cake tests done, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the pans and invert them onto a rack, once, then twice, so that layers cool right side up. Let them cool for 30 minutes before frosting.

4. Prepare the Quick Caramel Frosting, or the frosting of your choice. Frost, slice, and serve.

Simple Dream Cake

This is the four-ingredient recipe that has been in a lot of recipe files since the 1970s. Thanks to the countless readers who sent in this easy recipe. It makes an equally dense and tall cake, perfect for special occasions. I baked this recipe in a 13-by 9-inch pan.

Makes 16 servings
Preparation time: 5 to 7 minutes
Baking time: 40 to 45 minutes

1 package (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix with pudding
1 envelope (1.3 ounces) Dream Whip whipped topping mix
4 large eggs
1 cup cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mist a 13- by 9-inch pan with vegetable oil spray and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, topping mix, eggs, and water in a large mixing bowl. Mix on the low speed of an electric mixer until combined, then increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes longer, or until well combined and increased in volume.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and place the pan in the oven. Bake until the cake tests done and is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the pan to a rack to cool, then frost the top as desired.

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Saying I Do Bake Wedding Cake

What a buzz a wedding creates, and on this board a whole lot of buzz is created when it comes time to create that wedding cake.

The type of cake:
For all of you who have asked what type of cake would make a great wedding cake, try the Dream cakes in this newsletter, or the Bride's Cake in book one and the Lemon Lover's White Chocolate Cake in book two. Or, reader Jan McLane suggests these easy combinations:

• Yellow - Combine a plain French vanilla cake mix, a small box of vanilla instant pudding, 3 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup vegetable oil,
  and 1/3 cup apricot brandy.


• Chocolate - Combine a plain Swiss chocolate cake mix, a small box of chocolate instant pudding, 3 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 1/3 cup Kahlua.

Fillings, frostings: Lynne Christ of Austin, TX, wants to know how to make an amaretto filling, like that made by Lucy's Cakes in Austin. "The section of the cake made with the amaretto filling was the only part of the cake completely wiped out by the Cajun masses attending the wedding." The cake was white. Does anyone in the Austin area know this cake or this filling? And Jill Conyer of Houston, TX, passes along her favorite frosting for wedding cake, one she picked up while taking cake decorating classes. It goes like this:

Place 2 cups solid vegetable shortening, 2 pounds confectioners' sugar, and 1 envelope Dream Whip in a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Add 1 tablespoon white corn syrup, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and slowly add 1/2 cup water. Beat until fluffy.

A cupcake wedding cake: Amy Lampert Greenberg of St. Louis, MO, wanted to share how she came up with her unique wedding cake last September. "I wanted to be different from all the other brides, even down to my wedding cake . . . Instead of a traditional wedding cake, we had a cupcake wedding cake. It was a total hit! Devil's food and carrot cake cupcakes were iced with white icing, and each was decorated with a green "G" and an icing flower on each one (each cupcake had a different colored flower). My florist worked with the pastry chef to make a beautiful tiered display with flowers and greenery. We had a ball when we got to feed each other a cupcake for our first bite of wedding cake."

For Whom the Cake Pan Tolls

Karen McKinney of Tampa, FL, passes along this funny tale: "My husband and I went to see The Florida Orchestra last weekend with Skitch Henderson conducting an all-Gershwin Pops concert. During an arrangement of 'Porgy and Bess' selections, John Shaw, the principal percussionist, picked up something and used a metal hammer on it. I looked through our theater glasses and saw what looked like a Bundt pan. I had my husband look, too, because he didn't believe me… After the concert we saw John backstage and he was indeed carrying a Bundt pan. He said it's the closest thing he knew of to create a deep bell sound."

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Q. I cannot find 5.9-ounce packages of chocolate pudding in the local market. Can I substitute two small packages?—Betsey Benagh
A. Yes, you can use two of the 3.9-ounce packages. You will have a little too much pudding mix, but the recipe should work just fine.

Q. I have made your sister's lemon Bundt cake (with lemon gelatin) twice and it fell both times. I don't know how to adjust it for the altitude where I live (5100 feet). My family and I love the taste. What should I do?— Barbara Gallagher
A. Baking cakes with sugar (gelatin) added is tough in high altitudes because the sugar makes the cake more tender, thus weakening their structure. On the other hand, Bundt pans are quite useful because they support a cake well. If you are intent on baking this cake, add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and a couple tablespoons water to the batter next time to increase the structure. You also might cut back on the gelatin you add to the batter, adding, say, half of the package, instead of the whole thing.

Q. What is cream of coconut and where do I buy it? —Alisha Wolfe
A. Cream of coconut is a sweetened rich coconut liquid used in many tropical drinks and cake recipes. It is not the same thing as the unsweetened coconut milk used in Thai cooking. You can find cream of coconut on the drink aisle of your supermarket, where you find mixers and sodas.

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Amy Hayworth couldn't wait to tell me how she doctored the Pecan Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake from the chocolate book. She added butterscotch pudding instead of the vanilla, butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate, and used half oil and half applesauce for the oil the recipe requires. She even made my Shiny Chocolate Glaze using butterscotch chips instead of chocolate, which makes it a Shiny Butterscotch Glaze. "It was a huge success!" I would call that mighty successful surgery!

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Steve LaManna of Orlando, FL, is searching for a great cherry cake recipe. "I mean cherry everything, frosting and cake. Can you or any of the readers help me? And Rose Marie Matejka of Cleveland, OH, wants to know if any readers have a cake recipe made with Betty Crocker's Butter Pecan cake mix and sweetened condensed milk. "After the cake is baked, you poke holes in it, and pour the sweetened milk in the holes. It is frosted with Cool Whip and sprinkled with Heath toffee bits. Do you have this recipe?" It sounds a lot like the Holy Cow Cake from book one, and you could follow my recipe, substituting for the chocolate cake mix, but if anyone has a more specific recipe, please pass it along - anne@cakemixdoctor.com

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Fall cakes, pumpkin spice bars, questions about Bundt pans.