Monthly Feature
Carrie’s got you covered with some spectacular desserts!

So, this month, I bring you a staple. It may not be the most unique confection, but sometimes you need a good, basic recipe. So here it is…a great white cake recipe and a recipe for a white frosting that is not your usual sickeningly sweet version. This is especially delicious with a layer of raspberry preserves or lemon curd (or both!) to accompany the frosting in the middle.

White Cake:
¾ cup Crisco
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 ¼ cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup skim milk
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour 2 – 9” cake pans.
Beat Crisco until smooth. Gradually add sugar and mix on medium speed for 10 minutes. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Beat after each addition. Fold in egg whites.
Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
If you make cupcakes, this recipe yields 30.

Not So Sweet Frosting:
¾ cup Crisco
¾ cup butter
2 ¼ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups sugar
4 ½ tablespoons flour
1 cup warm milk

Cream together Crisco and butter. Add vanilla. Continue mixing and slowly add sugar. Add flour and mix. While mixing slowly stream in milk. Beat for 5-7 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and frosting is fluffy.

The taste: The cake has a nice crust and a light, fluffy texture. Again, it’s white cake…nothing unusual in terms of taste, but don’t underestimate a good, basic cake. And, it’s SO much better than a box! The icing is so good, especially, if like me, you usually end up scraping most of the frosting off of your cake.

The ease: I won’t lie…it’s not like making a boxed cake and using canned frosting. But, honestly, it probably only takes a total of 15 minutes to make the cake and 10 to make the frosting. And, if you have one of those wonderful stand mixers, it makes the 10 minutes of mixing simple. Either way, it’s worth it!

The fat-assness: You’re not going to lose weight eating it, but it could be worse. The cake has skim milk and egg whites…how bad can it be? And, think of all of those preseratives you’re bypassing by skipping the box!

The clean up: Three bowls, your mixer, and the cake pan(s). Easy!

The verdict: These are GREAT recipes to add to your collection. The cake is extremely versatile and you can change it up with different fillings and/or frosting. But, why would you want to use a different frosting when this one is so yummy! Enjoy!

Please note: this frosting recipe is not intended for decorating work (like that shown in the picture). It’s best to use one of those sugary recipes for this kind of decorating.