Southern Living Gift Box Cake Recipe

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.