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Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 50 Minutes Servings: 12 |
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SPARK oohs and aahs at your next birthday event with this delicious dazzler. It's sure to fire up taste buds! The dandy dessert takes off thanks to moist cake bursting with lemon flavor. Colorful homemade frosting forms the eye-catching firecrackers. As a grand finale, you can top your confection with a cream-filled snack cake and cover it with more icing to make an extra-large sparkler. Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened |
1-1/4 cups sugar |
8 egg yolks |
2-1/2 cups king arthur unbleached all-purpose flour |
3 teaspoons baking powder |
1/4 teaspoon salt |
3/4 cup milk |
1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
1 teaspoon lemon juice |
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel |
frosting: |
3/4 cup butter, softened |
7-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar |
1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice |
red, blue and yellow gel or paste food coloring |
1 cream-filled sponge cake |
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks until light and lemon-colored; add to creamed mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Beat in the vanilla, lemon juice and peel.
2. Pour into two greased and floured 8-in. round baking pans. Bake at 325° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of cakes comes out clean. cool cakes for 10 minutes before removing from the pans to wire racks to cool completely.
3. For frosting, in a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Add enough lemon juice to achieve desired consistency. Place 2/3 cup frosting each in two small bowls; tint one red and one blue. Place 1/3 cup frosting in another bowl; tint yellow. Leave the remaining frosting white.
4. Using a serrated knife, level off the top of each cake. Place one cake on a 10-in. round serving platter. Frost top of cake with white frosting; top with second cake. Spread top and sides with remaining white frosting.
5. Place each of the tinted frosting in pastry or plastic bags. Insert star tip #21. Alternating colors and using a rope pattern, pipe 12 firecrackers around side of cake. Pipe a yellow star on top of cake about each firecracker.
6. Place the cream-filled sponge cake centered on top of the cake. Alternating red and blue frosting, pipe diagonal stripes across the cream-filled sponge cake. Pipe a large yellow star above sponge cake. Yield: 12 servings.
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