Canada Day Cake

Happy Canada Day:

Thought I would share with you today this Canada Day Cake... actually two different cakes all because of a small oopsiedaisy that happened and caused me to have to make a whole new cake.

Normally and what you see in the first photos you purchase a pound cake, cut it into 10 slices and line the bottom of your pan with that. Then you mix a jelly mix (something red) with one cup of hot water until completely dissolved. Once that is dissolved COMPLETELY you add two cups of ice cubes and stir CONSTANTLY until the mixture begins to thicken (this is where we went wrong with one of our cakes). Once the mixture is nice and thick you stir in 1 cup of strawberries and then pour and spread this mixture over your cake bottom that you have laid into the pan. Put into fridge 15 minutes and once totally firm spread your cool whip evenly on the top. Lastly take your strawberry slices and create your Canadian flag! Place in refrigerator till you are ready to serve.

Dissolve your jello in 1 cup of hot water. Make sure it is completely dissolved.

 Lay out your pound cake slices to cover the bottom of your pan.

Once your jello is dissolved and ice cubes dissolved add your 1 cup strawberries to the mixture.

Pour this mixture over your cake base and spread out evenly!

  Be careful with your knife while slicing your strawberries! LOL!

Spread your cool whip evenly and lay out your strawberry slices in the shape of the Canadian flag! Cousin Lisa created this beautiful version of our flag!

Now in my case: We (my cousin and I) decided to do two cakes at once... apparently this was too much! One of the jello mixtures did not get properly dissolved and then when the ice cubes were added it caused all the jelly agent to stick and become sheets of nasty sludge. When I poured my mixture onto my cake is completely soaked my cake and made it all soggy! NOT nice and totally unacceptable. I tried to wait over night to see if it would still set but alas... this did not happen and I could not serve this to my guests coming to our home today. So....

With all the stores closed today for Canada Day I had to come up with something new. I had flour and eggs, some brown sugar and margarine in the house and even some creme of tartar so I decided to bake a pound cake from scratch at 5:00am. The nice thing is I was able to bake it in a pan that is the same size as my serving dish so I did not have to piece the bottom together.

 The Joy of Cooking cookbook has saved the day on may an occasion!

Flour, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, cream of tartar and a pinch of salt... pound cake! Whaawhoo!

Butter and flour your pan for easy release of the cake!

Pour batter into pan and smooth out evenly! BAKE and in a short time you will have a perfectly sized and shaped base for your Canada Day cake!

Almost ready!

I did not have any more jello in red but what I did find in my cupboard was a vanilla pudding mix that is pretty much white so I felt that would work and I had some strawberry preserve in the fridge too... that will work!

I first poked holes in the cake and then spread the preserve on while the cake was still hot out of the oven. Then once the cake cooled I put 1 cup of sliced fresh strawberries on nice and even! Then I mixed my pudding mix and spread that on and put the whole cake in the fridge for 3 hours while I went back to bed for a while.

 Poked holes while still hot and spread strawberry preserve evenly on the top!

Place fresh strawberries evenly on the top of your cake!

Smooth your vanilla pudding evenly and let cool!

When I woke up I spread the cool whip that I was able to save off my first attempt at this cake onto the top. It takes some time to get it smooth so just be patient and use a light touch. Then back into the fridge till my husband was ready to place the strawberry slices on the top to create the Canadian flag.

 J did a great job of creating our flag in his artistic way!

So that my friends is how I saved the Canada Day cake. I know my cousin will be enjoying her version today with her children and husband. I am sure it will be fabulous! I am also looking forward to trying my homemade version today with MIL and Grandmother... what a lovely way to celebrate the joyousness of being Canadian!

HAPPY CANADA DAY... BON APPETIT!

If any of your attempt this cake as an independence day flag cake I would love to see your version!