EASY STEP-BY-STEP: how to make a letter cake | first timer!

I think I’m one of the small portion in this world, who has never made any cake. Like, an actual, legit cake.

In general I don’t think of baking as a stress reliever (it is, according to society). I found it quite stressful to be honest, maybe because of my OCD? Or maybe I’m just that lazy lol.

Anyway — for my birthday this year, I wanted to do something special… just to feel like I’m actually making an effort to go out of my comfort zone. Sooo I decided to make my own birthday cake!

Since living in Hong Kong is not spacious at all, I don’t feel like making it in my kitchen (plus, it’s not like I have the equipment & tools LOL). So my friends and I went to BakeBe, a co-baking space with an iPad as your instructor.

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DIY Alphabet Cake by Sherroll (as seen on BakeBe iPad lol)

1. Prepare the ingredients and tools (ie. spatula, small bowls, etc). 

Flour                      100g
Cocoa powder      45g
Corn starch           12g
Baking powder     4g
Sugar                      150g
Butter                     60g
Whole egg              235g
Milk                         35g
Whipping cream   20g

2. Place the large sieve on the mixing bowl. Sift the cocoa powder, baking powder, corn starch, and flour together. 

3. Pour the milk and whipping cream to the bowl of butter. And then put it in the microwave (800W) for 3 mins. Stir the mixture.

4. Prepare the KitchenAid mixer. Add the egg and sugar into the bowl. Whisk for 3 minutes at speed 10.

5. When finished, take off the mixing bowl. Pour the first half of mixture in no 2, into this bowl.
Use the spatula to mix the batter in a letter “J” motion. Mix it with one hand, and rotate the bowl with another. 

7. Pour the rest of the flour mixture (no 2) into the bowl. Again, use the spatula to mix the batter in a letter “J” motion.

8. Add a small amount of this cake batter to the “reserve butter” (no 3). Stir until they are mixed.
Then, pour the mixture back into the stainless steel bowl, and mix a few more times in letter “J” motion.
(Don’t ask me why – I’m also confused about this back & forth mixing)

9. Stir for a while. Just. Keep. Stirring.

10. Pour the cake better onto the black baking tray with parchment paper on the surface. Make sure all the corners are filled and evenly spread!
Lightly tap the cake baking tray 3-4 times to release any bubble (don’t tap too hard, it will affect the texture of the cake)
ps: I didn’t actually tap LOL

11. Put the tray in the oven, time it for 28 mins. When the timer goes off, move the tray to the cooling racks – let it rest for 15 mins.

12. Prepare the following ingredients:

Icing sugar               10g
Butter                        150g
Hazelnut paste        45g

13. Add the butter, icing sugar, and hazelnut paste to the KitchenAid bowl. Whisk for 30 secs at speed 2.
Whisk for another 2 mins at speed 8.

14. Place the piping bag on the glass (attached to a round piping tip), and put the hazelnut batter inside it, using a spatula. Once filled, take out the piping bag.

15. Take the cake tray that’s now cooled off. Using an alphabet shaped carton (I chose an S for me!), place it on top of the cake and start cutting accordingly. 

16. Press the piping bag of hazelnut paste – decorate the first layer of the S shaped cake. 

17. Cut another S shaped cake, and put it on top of the first layer. Again, decorate your cake using the hazelnut paste. Add some more decorations ie. Ferrero, Oreo, popcorn, and some gliterry gold paper. 

18. DONE!!! Time to capture this moment with your masterpiece! 

 

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