Another Doctored Cake Mix Cake (Cake4Kids.org)

This week, I made another cake for Cake4Kids.  It was another doctored cake mix cake; this time a Devil's Food one which I adapted from the same recipe from my last post.  Unfortunately, I wasn't as blown away with this doctored version.  Maybe it's because I already found a chocolate cake from scratch that I swear by.  One thing about this cake that I loved was being able to use the new Wilton Make Any Message Letter Press Set I bought this week.  Good bye to fondant sticking inside those ABC cut outs!  Also, I remembered this time to use the Viva Towel Method.  Still not the smoothest looking chocolate buttercream frosting but better than the last one I made!  Wasn't given much direction on this cake, so I just went with blue and green marshmallow fondant accents.

My First Cake4Kids Cake

The cake requests are finally starting to roll in for Cake4Kids.  I kept this one fairly simple as it was a very last minute request.  I completely forgot about the vanilla buttercream frosting crusting up or else I would've definitely used the Viva Towel Method.  Not too bad for someone who likes to hide everything under fondant right?

I "cheated" and doctored a box of Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake for this one.  The cake was out of this world good.  I even ate every last bit of the scraps to prove it.  I used the Original WASC cake recipe from Cake Central which has me reconsidering my self-proclaimed ban on box cake mixes.  Don't get me wrong, I'm actually envious of how box cake mixes can always yield a moist and delicious cake.  It's just that it's always been my thing to bake from scratch.  I can see this as the perfect alternative to pound cake for stacking and carving.

Free Cakes for Kids

Several months ago, a friend talked to me about this program, Free Cakes for Kids, that donates cakes to kids whose families can't afford one.  It was started by Toni Poulos in 2007 in Trenton, GA and it has already expanded to over 1,000 local chapters here in the US.  However, my friend couldn't find a chapter here in the Bay Area for us to join as volunteer bakers.  Not letting this stop her, she decided to start a local chapter herself!

Today, she shared the great news with me that she has found us our first organization to support, Help One Child.  I can't wait to get started!!!

For more information on how you can help, please visit our website, www.cake4kids.org.