Gail Watson Cake - Wedding Favors and Cakes

Each tier of a wedding cake is placed on its own board. The largest tier sits on a board larger than iteself while the other tiers sit on thin boards the same size as the cakes. This distributes the weight of the cakes evenly.

When assembling the cake, drive several wooden skewers through the bottom and middle tiers to give extra support before placing the next tier on top. Cut the skewers so they are level with the top of the cake.

Baking

Invest in an oven thermometer. Some ovens might be off by as much as 75° F.
Preheat oven to the correct temperature.
Grease and lightly flour cake pans and cover the bottom with greased waxed paper. The paper is important to ensure that light and delicate cakes turn out of the pan easily without cracking or breaking. (If they break, don't worry too much. With a little patience frosting can work small miracles).
Position pans as near to center of oven as possible. Pans should not touch sides of oven or each other.
Cake is done when the sides shrink slightly away from the pan and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan 10 - 15 minutes before loosening the edge and turning it out onto a wired rack to cool.

Mixing

Prepare all the necessary ingredients.
Before mixing the batter, prepare the pans, turn the oven on, and make sure the rack is in the center.
Have all ingredients at room temperature for best results.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy or as long as the recipe directs.
Always sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices to avoid lumps.
To speed up the softening of cold butter, slice and let stand for about 10 minutes.
Toss nuts, raisins and fruits in the batter last. This will avoid color bleeding.
Scrape sides and bottom of bowl frequently with a rubber spatula during mixing.
Spread batter evenly in pans.

Frosting

Cool the cake thoroughly before frosting.
Chill the cake between the filling and the frosting. The cake will be much easier to work with.
Apply a thin layer of frosting to the cake then refrigerate until it is set before applying the final, heavier layer of frosting. This will seal in the crumbs, ensuring a clean final appearance.

Ingredients

Invest in good chocolate, fruit fillings, nuts etc. You will taste the difference if you start with the best ingreedients.

Always use fresh eggs. Eggs separate best when cold, but egg whites whip up best at room temperature.

Butter gives the best flavor. Its a wedding! Why substitute!

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