Your water feature is very nice. Regarding the planters at the Brooklyn Flea Market, are you sure they aren't natural tufa rock? Air entrainment admix adds tiny air bubbles not the larger air pockets you can see in those planters. Air can be pumped into concrete to create larger air bubbles but don't know if you can do that with hypertufa. If you don't break up the peat moss and leave if in larger chunks that will give you large pock marks. If you make your walls thick you can use a water hose to wash away some of the hypertufa mix as soon as you unmold. You can get a free form shape by digging a hole in the ground and forming your planter in the hole. I've done a few in my garden. You need room to dig around the planter to remove it from the ground. Use a masonry bit to drill holes then use a water hose to make the drilled holes look more irregular. Using white Portland cement will give you that whitish look. Any mix you use, add some sand for a more durable mix.

Perhaps if you approach the mixing of the batter more like a muffin batter rather than a cake batter. Use the techniques for a "quick" bread rather than the longer beating done when making cake batter: ~ stir together the dry ingredients in a bowl ~ lightly combine the wet ingredients in another bowl ~ briefly mix the wet into the dry and mix only until no dry particles remain then pour the batter into the cake pans. By contrast, I made a cake mix cake the other day that called for beating the batter for 4 minutes until it was very smooth. Just had a thought, it seems I remember the texture of cakes made with Bisquick having a more open structure. Here is the coffee cake recipe using Bisquick: 2 cups Bisquick 2 TB sugar 1 egg 2/3 cup cold water or milk Heat oven to 400F. Grease layer pan (or cupcake pans). Mix all ingredients with a spoon; beat well for 1/2 minute. Spread in prepared pan(s). Bake 20-25 minutes. For richer coffee cake, add an additional 2 TB sugar and 2 TB melted shortening or vegetable oil. There are recipes on the web for making your own buttermilk baking mix if you want to do that. Here is another cake recipe from Jiffy mix: Jiffy Cake Recipe #43909 from Recipezaar by ciao 30 min : 5 min prep SERVES 10 -12 , 1 8-inch or 9-inch cake * 1 1/2 cups jiffy mix baking mix * 3/4 cup sugar * 2/3 cup milk * 1 egg * 2 tablespoons soft shortening * 1 teaspoon vanilla Heat oven to 350°. Blend all ingredients, beat for 2 minutes. Pour into lightly greased 8" pan. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Like cloud swift, I use all butter for flavor, but if I have to decorate and want things to look just so, I use half butter and half shortening, as the shortening doesn't melt as quickly or get as soft. Like Sol, I don't think the cake sounds too heavy, as long as you don't skimp on that beating step. I know I hurried it once on Pixistix' Hot Milk Cake and got a very heavy cake, but it's far lighter when I don't hurry that beating in the beginning, then don't overbeat when I add the flour at the end. I'd also go for the cake flour if you are worried about the texture or density of the cake. The cake flour is lower in protein (i.e. less gluten development if overbeaten) and more finely textured. It generally makes a lighter cake. That said, I think it will be fine with all purpose, which I use for most of my baking, from cake to bread. I only buy the "specialty flour" when I'm doing something special, like my stepdaughter's wedding cake next week. As our Sol is a baker extraordinaire, she's never steered me wrong. If she says so, then I do it. And here some people thought I was a good baker, maybe I'm not that good after all, maybe it's just Sol's good advice and the recipes from here! Annie

I have been absent from this forum for so long. Lots of family issues, etc. But, so nice to lurk here. It has been so long. Nice to see familiar names still posting their wonderful recipes and ideas and tips. I'd like to comment about this cake as it has been a holiday staple for me for 25+ years. There are so many variations on this cake. I am sure they are all delicious. I noticed only one post mentions using a bundt pan. My recipe calls for a bundt pan and a Duncan Hines Supreme Yellow Cake mix. Do they even sell that any more? It also calls for Meyer Dark Rum, which compumom mentioned. I always use Meyers. Also calls for 1/2 cup oil, as most I see call for 1/3 cup. This recipe is so good, I hesitate making it unless I am serving it or taking it somewhere as I tend to eat too much of it myself. The glaze it calls for uses 3/4 cup Meyers Dark Rum and 1/2 cup water in addition to 1 cup sugar and 1/4 lb butter, brought to a boil and cooked for 5 minutes and then poured into the poked holes of the bundt cake.