All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

I’m studying for the boards right now. I am losing my sanity. That’s all.

Obviously, this is a Shining themed cake.
The base is a red rum velvet cake, made of red velvet and white velvet cakes flavored with rum and vanilla and then soaked in a sweet golden rum syrup.
The frosting is a simple but rich Italian meringue buttercream, all piped on with a small grass piping tip after carving the pattern into the crumb coat.
I did this in the dead of night at 3 in the morning, which I think adds to the ambiance. I can only suggest also having a small axe on hand for the cutting of the cake.

P.S. The Shining was published 45 years ago, yesterday. I didn’t know that when I made this cake and the coincidence is… well… scary.

Red Rum Velvet Cake 
makes 1 3×6″ layer cake

ingredients:
for the velvet cake:
400 grams (3 1/3 cup) AP flour
375 grams (1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
140 grams (approximately 5) egg whites
112 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
280 grams (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) buttermilk
170 grams (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 grams (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
red food coloring

for the rum soak:
120 grams (1/2 cup) golden rum
100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

for the Italian meringue buttercream:
110 grams (roughly 4 large) egg whites
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
450 grams (1 pound, 4 sticks) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cocoa powder and food coloring, as needed to tint

directions:
Make the cake: preheat oven to 335 degrees F.
Grease and flour 3 6″ pans.
Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together and set aside.
Whisk egg whites, buttermilk, and vegetable oil together with rum and vanilla.
Mix the butter into the dry mixture on low speed until the mixture looks like sand; carefully and slowly pour in the wet ingredients while stopping frequently to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Divide the batter in half and fill 1 and 1/2 of the pans with the white mixture.
To the remaining half of the batter, stir in the cocoa powder and red food coloring until fully incorporated.
Fill the remaining 1 1/2 pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes spring back to the touch and are lightly golden brown.
Allow to cool completely, then trim the top/tort the cakes until flat.
Make the rum syrup: bring the rum to a hard simmer and add the sugar; continue to cook until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Do not bring to a boil.
Allow to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the frosting: place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Place sugar, salt, and water in a small pot over medium heat, fitted with a candy thermometer.
Begin to whisk egg whites while syrup heats up.
Once syrup reaches 245 degrees F, the egg whites should be at semi-stiff peaks.
Pour the hot syrup into the meringue while beating at high speed.
Whip until the meringue is glossy and cooled to body temp.
Beat in 1 tablespoon of the butter at a time, beating until the frosting comes together into a glossy, fluffy, light mixture.
Divide into bowls and tint as desired (here, I used some cocoa powder to get a darker, more muted tone to my orange and red frostings).
To assemble, liberally brush rum syrup over the cut cakes and allow to soak in.
Frost with a crumb coat and then trace your pattern into the crumb coat (you can allow it to chill to make this easier if it’s too messy).
Pipe within the lines of your pattern with a grass tip on a bag fitted with a coupler.
Swap out tips and use a small round tip to fill in any gaps.