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Southern Living Gift Box Cake Recipe

Southern Living Gift Box Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 2 Hours + 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 35 Minutes

Total Time: About 8 Hours

Yield: Serves 9 to 12

Rating:
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Southern Living Gift Box Cake Recipe

White Frosting for Gift Box Cake

Makes about 6 cups
ACTIVE 10 min. TOTAL 10 min.
Prepare the frosting in two batches if using a handheld mixer.

 

Beat together Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, salt, and extracts in a large bowl until light, about 1 minute. Add half of the sugar and 3 tablespoons milk; beat on low speed until combined. Add remaining sugar, and beat on low until no dry patches remain. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed, until frosting is spreadable.

Make Ahead and Store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature and beat vigorously before using.

Ingredients

CAKE

FONDANT BOW/DECORATIONS

 

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in center position. Coat 3 (6- x 2-inch) square baking pans with Baker’s Joy® No-Stick Baking Spray. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, water, and extracts in a measuring cup with spout.
  2. Beat egg whites in a large bowl on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high, and gradually add ½ cup of the sugar. Beat on high until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat together Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening with remaining 1 ½ cups sugar in another large bowl, on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl; reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
  3. Stir about one-quarter of the egg whites into batter; fold in remaining egg whites in 3 additions. Divide batter among pans, filling about halfway; smooth tops with a spatula.
  4. Bake cakes until golden brown on edges and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
  5. Assemble the Fondant Bow: Lightly grease a work surface with Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening. Working with a third of the fondant at a time, roll to ⅛ inch thick. Cut into strips 1 ¼ x 5 inches. Gather scraps to reroll. Stir together luster dust and lemon extract in a small bowl until consistency of watercolor paint; brush over strips with a soft brush. Fold strips into loops, and pinch ends closed. Stand loops on edge on a paper towel-lined baking sheet in a cool, dry spot until firm, preferably overnight. Repeat with remaining fondant. See Step 7 for assembly.
  6. Using a serrated knife, trim the dome from each cake layer. Place one layer on a rotating cake stand or platter, and spread with ⅔ cup frosting. Top with a second cake layer and ⅔ cup frosting. Top with third layer, bottom-side up. Coat cake thinly with frosting. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Reserve 1 ¼ cups frosting; add the remaining frosting in a smooth layer using an offset spatula. Refrigerate cake until firm, 2 hours or overnight. Use spatula to perfect the edges, adding frosting to corners as needed.
  7. Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch round tip. For “wrapping paper,” pipe 2 overlapping trapezoids on 2 opposite sides of cake. Fill trapezoids with frosting; smooth with a spatula. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Just before serving, pipe a 2-tablespoon dollop of frosting on top of cake. Assemble the fondant loops into a bow, pressing ends into the dollop and adding frosting as needed to secure. Place the “gift tag” alongside the bow.

 

Make Ahead and Store:

The frosted cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before decorating. The fondant bow can be stored in a cool, dry spot, for up to 1 week. Do not refrigerate bow.

Tips

Why Shortening? Shortening makes baked goods fluffier and flakier, while oils provide a denser and heavier texture.

To make the gift tag, roll out gingerbread cookie dough to ¼ inch and use a sharp knife to cut around the template. Use a skewer to punch a hole in the tag while cookie is still warm. Download the template here

Check out this recipe for Gingersnap Cookies

Southern Living Gift Box Cake Recipe

Southern Living Gift Box Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 2 Hours + 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 35 Minutes

Total Time: About 8 Hours

Yield: Serves 9 to 12

Ingredients

CAKE

FONDANT BOW/DECORATIONS

 

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in center position. Coat 3 (6- x 2-inch) square baking pans with Baker’s Joy® No-Stick Baking Spray. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, water, and extracts in a measuring cup with spout.
  2. Beat egg whites in a large bowl on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high, and gradually add ½ cup of the sugar. Beat on high until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat together Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening with remaining 1 ½ cups sugar in another large bowl, on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl; reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
  3. Stir about one-quarter of the egg whites into batter; fold in remaining egg whites in 3 additions. Divide batter among pans, filling about halfway; smooth tops with a spatula.
  4. Bake cakes until golden brown on edges and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
  5. Assemble the Fondant Bow: Lightly grease a work surface with Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening. Working with a third of the fondant at a time, roll to ⅛ inch thick. Cut into strips 1 ¼ x 5 inches. Gather scraps to reroll. Stir together luster dust and lemon extract in a small bowl until consistency of watercolor paint; brush over strips with a soft brush. Fold strips into loops, and pinch ends closed. Stand loops on edge on a paper towel-lined baking sheet in a cool, dry spot until firm, preferably overnight. Repeat with remaining fondant. See Step 7 for assembly.
  6. Using a serrated knife, trim the dome from each cake layer. Place one layer on a rotating cake stand or platter, and spread with ⅔ cup frosting. Top with a second cake layer and ⅔ cup frosting. Top with third layer, bottom-side up. Coat cake thinly with frosting. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Reserve 1 ¼ cups frosting; add the remaining frosting in a smooth layer using an offset spatula. Refrigerate cake until firm, 2 hours or overnight. Use spatula to perfect the edges, adding frosting to corners as needed.
  7. Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch round tip. For “wrapping paper,” pipe 2 overlapping trapezoids on 2 opposite sides of cake. Fill trapezoids with frosting; smooth with a spatula. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Just before serving, pipe a 2-tablespoon dollop of frosting on top of cake. Assemble the fondant loops into a bow, pressing ends into the dollop and adding frosting as needed to secure. Place the “gift tag” alongside the bow.

 

Make Ahead and Store:

The frosted cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before decorating. The fondant bow can be stored in a cool, dry spot, for up to 1 week. Do not refrigerate bow.

Tips

Why Shortening? Shortening makes baked goods fluffier and flakier, while oils provide a denser and heavier texture.

To make the gift tag, roll out gingerbread cookie dough to ¼ inch and use a sharp knife to cut around the template. Use a skewer to punch a hole in the tag while cookie is still warm. Download the template here

Check out this recipe for Gingersnap Cookies

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