Let It Snow or Let It Go?

 Picture it: a glorious 48-hour window in Florida where the humidity was below 50 percent, and the temperature was low enough I could finally turn the air conditioner off. Winter was so beautiful while it lasted, but as it snow happens, the A/C is back on, and I've returned to a general existence best described as "sweaty and wondering if there's space to live in the freezer." While winter may have literally only lasted two days here, it was long enough to inspire me to bake a cake in honor of one of my all-time favorite winter adult beverages, the Moscow Mule. There are some people who think this is a summer drink, but they're wrong. Anything served in a hammered copper mug screams, "I want to make your hand as cold as the outside temperature," therefore making it a winter beverage (told you snow). While this cake won't freeze your fingers, it will make your insides all warm and fuzzy, and we can thank the vodka for that.

I inadvertently made a Frozen cake. Please don't let Disney sue me. I'll eat the evidence.

I kinda wanted to go for "ugly Christmas sweater meets winter wonderland" with my design, and it accidentally turned into Elsa's birthday cake...after texting my sister this picture, I am assured by her that this cake passed the Frozen test from my niece, so I guess if you're looking for a Frozen-themed cake that you can throw together in a day that also allows you to drink copious amounts of vodka while you bake it and listen to your children scream-sing "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs for the 56th time in a day, this is the cake for you! Although, you might want to leave the vodka for adult beverages unless you're trying to get a group of 7 year olds accidentally drunk off cake (it could either make the singalong better or much, much worse). In either instance, this is a DELICIOUS cake that truly tastes like the solid form of a Moscow Mule...plenty of ginger flavor, hints of crisp vodka, and sweet yellow cake undertones. And at only 267 calories a slice (10 slices total), you can rest assured this will not be the holiday dessert that does your diet in. Save that for eggnog. 

If you don't buy your vodka from Texas, I assume you also purchase tortillas made in Ohio. Shame on you.

The base recipe for this cake is super simple for some extremely tasty results. You need:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix (I used Whole Foods gluten free yellow cake mix)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 TBS lime zest
  
• 1/2 cup of ginger beer (I use Zevia Mixer 0 calorie ginger beer)
• 1/4 cup of goooood vodka (not Smirnoff; something classy like Deep Eddy or Grey Goose)
• 2 TBS fresh squeezed lime juice
  

Preheat your oven to 350 and line three 6-inch round pans with Parchment paper, cooking spray, and throw on bake even strips. Place all your ingredients into a stand mixer, blending on low for 30 seconds and then turning to medium high just until everything comes together--the gluten free cake mix said to stop the second that happens, and since I've had trouble ground testing just about every gluten free cake mix under the sun even when following directions, I listened. It took Whole Foods to make a gluten free cake mix that actually bakes and tastes like regular cake, and for that, we are thankful as we cringe slightly during checkout ($$$). 

Evenly spread cake batter in the three pans, and bake for 24-26 minutes at 350 until a toothpick comes out cleanly from the center of each round.

Blonde and full of vodka! There's a parallel here to me in my 20s...

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. Now, let's gather up the tools you need in order to make a buttercream transfer onto the SIDE of a cake. I like to overachieve...buttercream transfers on top of a cake are so 2017. Since quarantine and COVID have clearly made me lose my mind, my cake baking and decorating plans are getting pretty wild.

Ha, THREE KINDS OF SPRINKLES. Yep, I'm a mad woman.

You're going to want acetate cake collars in order to do a side transfer, as well as a bench scrape or fondant smoother, angled spatula, small paintbrushes, and some Parchment paper. I'll get into detail about piping tips and gel dyes here in a bit.

But first, more vodka.

Did I mention the buttercream frosting is also its own Moscow Mule? Because it is. I told you, warm and fuzzy. Real warm. And real fuzzy. To make, you need:

• 1 cup of light butter at room temp
• 4 1/2 cups of Lakanto powdered monkfruit
• 1 tsp clear vanilla
• 1 TBS vodka
• 2 TBS ginger beer
• 1 TBS lime juice
• Navy gel dye
  

Whip the butter until soft, then add in half of the powdered monkfruit, the vanilla, and the vodka. Blend until well mixed, then add in the remaining powdered monkfruit, ginger beer, and lime juice. Now, grab those cooled cakes!

And prepare for something I never do..

Yeah, you definitely have to crumb coat this cake so the transfer has something to hold on to. I NEVER crumb coat since I usually frost on frozen cake rounds, so I used absolutely every iota of frosting made on this cake. Which meant I had none leftover to eat alone with a spoon, and that makes me sad.

Because the whole point of eating cake is for the frosting.

I digress...place your first cake layer face down on a cake board, then slather a large helping of frosting on top, evening out before you add the second cake layer, also face down, on top. Add more frosting to this.

I just wanted to pick it up and eat it like a burger at this point.

Place the final cake layer face down on the top, and then grab a measuring tape. You need to know how tall and how big around your cake is to make your transfer later. Write these measurements down, then slather a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake.

I mean, this is pretty, too. I'd serve this.

I do love a good naked cake, but in this instance, smooth out the top as best as you can and make sure there's a nice thin layer all over the sides of the cake. Now, it's time for sprinkles!

And that's when you know I mean business.

For the cake topper, I cut out a very simple snowflake design and placed it on the center of my cake, pushing down to ensure none of the edges weren't essentially "glued" to the top.

Then, I got wild with TWO different kinds of sprinkles. Spreading them all over the top of the cake.

Do this until there's a nice layer of sprinkles on top and no white frosting is showing. Gently press the sprinkles into the top of the cake and wipe excess off of the snowflake template so it's easier to remove later.

Now, I left my template on top of the cake so the sprinkles could settle while my frosting set in the fridge for an hour while I worked on my buttercream transfer. You do want your cake to be totally chilled before applying the transfer, so make sure your buttercream has time to crust up for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Now, time to trace!

I used Canva to make my own winter scene, knowing my cake was a little over 3 inches tall and about 18 inches around. You can Google "simple winter scene," "winter template," etc., to find a good design without Canva. I cut the acetate to about 20 inches to give some overhang for handling, and then I cut Parchment paper the same size and 3 inches high. I copied my template onto the Parchment paper.

Blinded by the shine.

Then I taped my Parchment paper behind my acetate. I loaded up a piping bag with a #3 round tip, and piped my deer and snowflakes. I used a small paintbrush to press the piping into a smooth and even layer so there were no gaps in the flakes or deer outlines.

Sadly, the snowflakes would melt on me, just like my hopes for a real winter in Florida.

As cute as they were, the snowflakes were too small and would not stay stuck to the acetate when I added the final layer of frosting. The ended up getting lost in my background layer and kind of melting in. I'd recommend using large details only for side transfers. A cool pattern of colors or bigger figures like the deer work well. I piped the snowy bottom of the scene using a #12 round tip, and then I placed this on a huge cookie sheet, taped the edges down to keep them from curling, and put it into the freezer for 1 hour to set up. While this was chilling, I dyed my remaining frosting a navy blue shade. I put it into another piping bag fitted with a #12 tip.

Then held my breath.

It's been ages since I'd done a buttercream transfer, but covering up the "picture" is always a hope for the best situation.

A sea of panic...

Once I had covered the entire collar with my navy blue background, I first used a large paintbrush to gently spread the frosting and ensure no gaps/white space remained.

Smooth like buttah.

Then I used an angled spatula to very gently smooth out the frosting. I probably should have used a little more pressure since I had some issues with air pockets/holes in the final design, but live and learn.

You're gonna need extra hands.

Take your chilled cake out of the fridge, and with the help of someone else, take the transfer you just finished smoothing (not chilled after), and gently lift and place the acetate collar on the cake. It helps to start in the middle and each person presses their end of the collar around the cake firmly.

Pretty sure I had been holding my breath for a solid 5 minutes at this point.

Then, take the Parchment off and use a bench scraper or fondant smoother and run it around the cake collar several times to ensure everything is adhering to the cake. Now, place this in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. I went with 30. Then you can remove the acetate collar carefully once the frosting is set.

Ahh, love at frost sight. Time to finish the top!

Once you've removed the acetate collar, you can use a sharp knife to trim down the edges at the top. I used my remaining frosting in a piping bag with a #21 star tip to create a star border on top of these edges, and added in some snowflake sprinkles. Then I carefully removed the snowflake template to reveal a pristine snowflake (you could very easily reverse the template and have the opposite effect, too, with the snowflake cutout and the glitter inside of it).

Oh, deer. It's snowing out.

Since my snowflakes more or less melted on me, I added regular snowflake sprinkles to my design to give those deer something to look at.

Obsessed with the top of this cake...maybe Elsa was onto something...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas (not a white sandy beach...Florida.).

Well, it may be too warm for flannel or ugly Christmas sweaters outside, but at least my dessert tastes and looks seasonally appropriate. This is probably the only snow I'm going to see this winter to boot, but I'm not even that sad because I am in LOVE with the flavors of this cake...sweet buttercream frosting with a zip of ginger in each bite, a hint of vodka, and tons of delicious, soft yellow cake swimming underneath. A good cake heals most winter-related depression (or absence-of-winter-related depression in my case). We had a slice last night with a side of actual Moscow Mule to drink, and it was an amazing experience...where the cake ended and the drink began was absolutely seamless, and that's how dang good it is. You could say it's snow laughing matter how yummy this cake is. While it's been *a year,* I have enjoyed baking every month, and can't wait to try out new techniques in 2021. Here's to sleighin' it all season. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

This cake wins Best in Snow 2020.