I tried making a six-layer cake years ago by baking two round cakes and then slicing them in thirds. It wasn’t pretty. Crumbs everywhere. Luckily, I could cover my mistakes with frosting.
Several weeks ago I came across Wilton’s Easy Layers! Heart Cake kit (around $14) in the seasonal aisle of the Walmart in Pearl City. The box contains five shallow 6-inch heart-shaped pans, scaled to use one boxed cake mix. Now I could make a five-layer cake with ease.
Unfortunately, as a seasonal item, the kit is in short supply, and most Walmarts are already sold out. You can find it on various online sites, including amazon.com, available with either heart-shaped or round pans.
An easy layer cake is still within reach, though, using Wilton’s heart-shaped silicon molds (also a seasonal item, but there were more available), which can be used to microwave or bake a personal-size cake. The $2 molds can withstand heat up to 400 degrees.
For a microwave cake: Mix 1/4 cup cake mix with 2 tablespoons water; pour into a heavily greased mold. Microwave on high about 40 seconds. (I used 1,000- and 1,250-watt microwaves.) The cake is done when the sides pull slightly away from the mold or when it springs back when pressed on.
Let it cool about 5 minutes, then remove from the mold. Let it cool another 5 minutes before slicing it in half to make layers. In that time you can wash the mold and make another cake for your multilayered dessert.
A Duncan Hines Pink Velvet 16.5-ounce cake mix can make eight microwave heart cakes.
Conceivably you could make a superhigh cake. I tried stacking 10 layers, but it toppled. Maybe you’ll have better luck. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Michelle Ramos, Star-Advertiser
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Ethel’s is expanding
Ethel’s Grill, the 40-year-old local favorite in Kalihi Kai, is expanding to East Honolulu with The Cafe by Ethel’s Grill.
It is slated to open in early March in a part of the Oahu Club that is open to the public, according to co-owner Robert Urquidi, whose wife, Minaka, is the daughter of the now-retired Ethel’s founders.
“I wanted to do something totally different,” Urquidi said, but he kept running into customers excited at the prospect of eating Ethel’s ahi tataki and other house specialties closer to home. “We have a built-in customer base.”
The cafe will open for breakfast at 6 a.m. with lighter fare, then serve lunch and dinner through 7 p.m. Urquidi plans to eventually have pop-up events to feature his wife’s pastry prowess.
Urquidi’s brother Marc will run the new location. All three are classically trained, with experience that includes Roy’s, Alan Wong’s and MW restaurants.
The cafe space is perhaps half the size of Ethel’s, with seating for as many as 16, Urquidi said, but has one big advantage: a parking lot.
Erika Engle, Star-Advertiser
