Hannah’s 3rd Note: This frosting is very forgiving. If you went a little overboard with the confectioner’s sugar and it’s a bit too stiff, add a little more crème d’cacoa or heavy cream. If your frosting is not stiff enough, add a bit more powdered sugar until it’s just right. You may end up with extra frosting this way, but the kids will always appreciate frosting spread between 2 graham crackers, or even frosting spread on the unsalted side of a soda cracker.
To frost your cake, peel the parchment paper off the bottom of one layer and set it, bottom up, on the cake plate. (If the top has risen too much and it wobbles on the plate, even the top with a sharp knife.)
Put dabs of frosting on top of the 1st layer and spread it out evenly with a frosting knife.
Peel the paper off the bottom of the 2nd layer and place it, top side up, on top of the 1st layer. This time you don’t care if it’s risen a little. It will look pretty when you frost it.
Frost the sides of your cake next. When you’ve frosted the sides to your satisfaction, move on to the very top.
Put a generous dab of frosting in the center of the top. Then put dabs of frosting around it. Spread them together to cover the whole top and your work of tasty art is finished!
Let the frosting dry for ten minutes or so. Then decorate your Double Rainbow Swirl Cake in any manner you choose. You can use colored frosting in a pastry bag, the little tubes of colored frostings you can buy at the grocery store, or you can stick colored candies on the top of your cake in a design you create. If you like, you can even sprinkle it with rings of multicolored decorating sugar, the kind you use on Christmas cookies. Whichever method you choose, the real surprise will come when you slice the cake and serve it to your guests!
Yield: 12 to 24 slices
Hannah’s 4th Note: I looked this up online once and a bakery said you could get 24 slices from a 2-layer cake. I guess that’s only if you don’t invite Mike or Ross.
Chapter Fourteen
“Ithought it went well,” Michelle said when she got to the greenroom. “What do you think, Hannah?”
“I don’t know. I thought so at the time, but now I’m not as sure. Rodney’s cake with those candied violets on top looked really gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“Neither have I,” Michelle admitted. “Did you see Brooke’s cake?”
“No, but she’s up right after this commercial. I hope she does better tonight. They were really tough on her in New York.”
“And it was all Gloria’s fault for telling her to use that marshmallow sauce.”
The two sisters watched as Brooke wheeled her cake to the judging table. “It looks good,” Michelle commented. “I like those peach slices on top.”
“So do I. Fingers crossed that it tastes as good as it looks.”
“You want her to win?” Michelle asked, and she looked surprised. “I thought you wanted to win the first night in Lake Eden.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to win. It’s just that I’d mind less if I lost to Brooke than I would if I lost to anyone else.”
“Okay. I guess I can understand that.”
The door to the greenroom opened and Loren rushed in. He was carrying a jacket on a hanger. “Hi, guys. I spilled powdered sugar all over my other jacket and I have to change before I’m up.”
“You’ve got time,” Hannah told him. “Brooke just wheeled in her cake. It looks really good.”
Loren turned to look at the screen. “You’re right. It does look good. I just hope Chef Duquesne gives her a better score than last time. He was really nasty to her.”
“I know,” Hannah said, “and it wasn’t her fault. She got a piece of bad advice from Gloria.”
“I know. Gloria told me. She was pretty proud of the fact she tried to sabotage Brooke and it worked.”
“And you think Chef Duquesne is nasty?” Michelle asked in the most sarcastic tone Hannah had ever heard her youngest sister use.
“You’re absolutely right, Michelle.” Loren pulled off his stained chef’s coat and put on a clean one. “Gloria’s every bit as nasty. And that’s probably why they hooked up last night. Nastiness must seek its own level. And as far as I’m concerned, they deserve each other.”
Hannah exchanged glances with Michelle, and she knew that her youngest sister was thinking along the same lines as she was. If Gloria had wound up with Chef Duquesne last night, she might just win the competition tonight.
“Do you think it’ll affect her scores?” Michelle asked the question that was on both of their minds.