Heavenly White Cake

Heavenly White Cake
By: Sudha Hari

2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup full cream milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt 3 times.
Cream butter, then add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Then add dry ingredients alternately with milk, always starting and ending with dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Add vanilla essence. In a small glass bowl, beat egg whites until it is foamy. Then add sugar little by little and beat until small peaks are formed.
Fold this mixture into the batter in three steps. Put in a preheated oven at 350 deg F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in two 9 inch round pan.

Recipe for butter icing:
2lbs (around 908 gms) icing sugar
1/3 to half cup warm water
2 teaspoon clear vanilla flavouring
7/8 teaspoon butter flavouring
2 pinch salt
2 cups vegetable shortening or butter

Pour water, clear vanilla essence, butter flavouring and salt over the powdered sugar. Wait for 1 to 2 minutes for the sugar to settle down.
Add 1/3 of the shortening to this. Mix these ingredients on low speed to blend it. Add more water if needed, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Now start mixing on medium speed until icing is smooth. Add the remaining vegetable shortening and mix at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
This icing is for covering the cake. Basket weaving was done with medium consistency icing (add less water).

Recipe for fondant:
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 lbs icing sugar

Stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla flavouring. Gradually add the icing sugar until it is a stiff dough.
Knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, add more sugar until it is smooth. Store in an air tight container.
Roll out using icing sugar and drape over forsted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down. But the fondant that I used was readymade.