Milk Bar Funfetti Birthday Cake

  Our friend Mrs. A has been creating pinterest worthy moments long before blogs and pinning were a thing. We have been blessed to share in a good part of those moments, from unbelievable themed birthday parties to the most All-American 4th of July barbecues, and Christmas wouldn't be the same if we didn't giggle over trivia games and stuff ourselves with her famous meatballs on Christmas Eve. She has been making our lives special in so many ways for the past 25 years, and such a wonderful friend deserves a special birthday dessert. 

We wanted to make something amazing for Mrs. A, and this cake has been on the special occasion list for quite a while, so her birthday was the perfect time to pull out all the stops.

 This is a really long and involved recipe, but each step on its own is relatively easy and they can be done several days in advance.  This is not something that can be done at the last minute, and takes a bit of planning, but it is absolutely worth it.  The cake itself is delicious, with flavors similar to the boxed Funfetti of childhood, but better because it is homemade.  The crumb layer inside gives a nice sweet crunch, and the frosting is light and smooth, and not overly sweet.

Our family would not be the same without Mrs. A, and we look forward to many more celebrations with her. We know we can count on her for beautiful, creative decorations, and we will bring the cake. 

Birthday Cake

adapted from Milk. Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi

1 recipe Birthday Cake

1 recipe Birthday Cake soak

1 recipe Birthday Cake frosting

1 recipe birthday Birthday Cake crumb

1 6 inch cake ring

2 acetate strips 3 inches wide and 20 inches long.

One bottle clear vanilla extract (you need this if you want it to taste like the boxed  funfetti cake.)

Birthday Crumb

1/2 cup (100g)  granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon (25g)  light brown sugar, tightly packed

3/4 cup  (90g) cake flour

1/2 teaspoon (2g) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (2g) kosher salt

2 tablespoons (25g) rainbow sprinkles

1/4 cup (40g) grape seed oil

1 tablespoon (12g) clear vanilla extract

Heat oven to 300f

Combine the 1st six ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until well combined.

Add the oil and vanilla and paddle again to distribute, continue paddling until mixture forms clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 20,minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should be slightly moist to the touch, they will dry and harden as they cool. Cool completely before using in recipe.

Birthday Cake

4 tablespoons(50g) butter, room temperature

1/3 cup (60g) vegetable shortening

1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons (50g) light brown sugar tightly packed

3 eggs

1/2 cup(110g) buttermilk

1/3 cup (65g) grape seed oil

2 teaspoons (8g) clear vanilla extract

2 cups (245g) cake flour

3/4 teaspoon (3G) kosher salt

1/4 cup(50g) rainbow sprinkles

Additional 2 tablespoons (25 g) rainbow sprinkles

Heat oven to 350f

Combine the butter, shortening and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium high speed for 2-3 more minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

On low speed stream in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Increase speed to medium high and paddle for 4-6 minutes until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of the original fluffy butter sugar mixture and completely homogenous. Don't rush the process,  there should be no streaks of fat or liquid.

On very low speed add the cake flour, baking powder, salt and the 1/4 cup of  sprinkles. Mix 45-60 seconds, just until your batter comes together. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Spray a quarter sheet pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spread the batter in an even layer in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sprinkles evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake cake for 30-35 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but  will remain slightly buttery and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger, the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave in the oven for an extra 3-5 minutes if it doesn't pass these test.

Remove cake from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Birthday cake soak

1/4 cup (55g) milk

1 teaspoon (4g)  clear vanilla extract

Whisk together in a small bowl.

Birthday cake frosting

8 tablespoons (115g) butter, room temperature

1/4 cup (50g) vegetable shortening

2 ounces (55g) cream cheese

1 tablespoon (25g) glucose or  2 teaspoon (12g) corn syrup

1 tablespoon (18g) corn syrup

1 tablespoon (12g) clear vanilla extract

1 1/4. Cups (200g) confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2g) kosher salt

Pinch (.25g) baking powder

Pinch (.25g) citric acid (fruit fresh)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with paddle attachment combine butter, shortening and cream cheese, paddle on medium high for 2-3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Scrap down the side of the bowl

With mixer on low speed,  stream in the glucose, corn syrup and vanilla. Change speed to medium high and beat 2-3 minutes until silky smooth and a glossy whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

On low speed,add confectioners sugar, salt baking powder and citric acid and mix to incorporate. Increase the speed to medium high and beat. For 2-3 minutes  until you have a stark white smooth frosting.

Assembly

Invert cake on clean parchment paper, peel off the parchment on the bottom of the cake. Use a six inch cake ring to cut out 2 cake circles, these are the top 2 layers. You will use the scrapes to fit into the cake ring for the bottom layer. Clean cake ring

On a clean piece of parchment place your cake ring line the inside with an acetate strip, and fit the cake scrapes in the ring and tamp to an even layer.

Using a pastry brush on 1/2 the birthday cake soak.

Spread 1/5 of the frosting in an even layer over the cake.

Sprinkle with 1/3 of the birthday crumbs evenly over the top of the frosting. Use the back of your hand to anchor them in  place.

Use the back of a spoon to spread a second 1/5 of the frosting as evenly as possible over the crumbs.

With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5-6 inches tall-high enough to support the height of the cake.

Set a cake round on top of the frosting, brush with remaining birthday cake soak, spread with 1/5 of frosting, followed by 1/3 cup birthday cake crumbs, 1/5 frosting. Top with remaining cake layer and cover with the last 1/5 frosting. Garnish frosting with the remaining birthday crumbs.

Freeze complete cake for 12 hour to set the cake and filling. I just put mine the the fridge overnight.

3 hours before serving remove cake from freezer and pop the cake out of the cake ring,push up form the bottom,  peel off acetate , cover in plastic wrap defrost in the fridge for minimum 3 hours.

** I have assembled cakes with the cake ring and acetate strips, but this time I was serving this cake at a big birthday dinner so I use 1  1/2 x the recipes and baked the cake batter in 3 - 8 inch cake pans. I  weighed all ingredients and assembled the cake on a cake plate without using acetate strips and chilled overnight in the fridge

printable recipe

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Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all the kitchen traditions we have made over the years. We always have Indian Pudding on Thanksgiving, Mrs. A's meatballs on Christmas Eve, and days upon days of cookie baking and decorating. We've been making this pumpkin coffee cake for many years, and it is the perfect thing to have around for breakfast with a cup of coffee, or as an afternoon snack while decorating our mountains of cookies. 

The basic recipe comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts and  we have added a few twists to make it our own. The cake is moist and soft, and full of the fall spices that make everything so fragrant and delicious. While we find it pretty much perfect as is, this simple cake is easily adaptable; throw in a handful of chocolate chips or dried cranberries to start your own kitchen tradition.

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts
 

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Topping

3/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Icing:
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons milk

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Make streusel topping:

In a medium bowl, with your fingers blend the first 5 ingredients together, making a moist crumble. Add the nuts and mix to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and pumpkin puree and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed.  Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and allspice. Add to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined then fold in the nuts. Pour batter in prepared pan, smooth top and sprinkle streusel topping evenly over the top
.
Bake in for 40 -50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool.

When cake has cooled mix together icing ingredients in a small bowl, adding enough milk so that icing drizzles from your spoon. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake. (I put the icing in a sandwich bag, snip off the corner and drizzle away)
Printable recipe

 

Enjoy!

  
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Apple Pie Cake

As many cookbooks as I have and love, there is always room for another one on my shelf. A while ago I added the Momofuku Milk Bar bookbook to my collection, and I love the way Christina Tossi takes an innovative approach to desserts. There are so many variations on the same desserts in different cookbooks, but her recipes really take classic flavors and bring them to a whole new level. Because I love to spend time in the kitchen, I enjoy that her recipes are multi-step and more involved than most. However, despite the steps, the recipes are not difficult and can definitely be spread out over a few days before assembling the final product. 
To get into the fall spirit, this Apple Pie Cake recently graced our table after dinner with friends. It combines layers of brown butter cake with cream cheese and apple pie filling, with a bit of pie crust topping. It has all the familiar flavors of the fall favorite, apple pie, but presented in a new way. 

As much as her concepts are different, so are her methods. Tossi bakes her cakes in a sheet pan, then they are cut into layers. The bottom layer is put together from partial pieces, eliminating some waste. The cake layers are then assembled in a cake ring with the fillings in between. What you need to make this cake is a 6 inch ring mold and 2 3x20 inch strips of acetate. The acetate strips are use to line the inside of the cake ring, similar to the collar on a souffle dish. This make a 6 inch 3 layer cake that easily served 6.  I used a 6 inch spring form pan to assemble the layers and it made unmolding the finished cake fairly easy. I know that I will be flipping through this book any time I want some inspiration and a delicious, but fun to make, dessert!

Barely Brown Butter Cake

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
3 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2.Combine the butters and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream together on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on medium high 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Stream in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla on low speed. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 5 to 6 minutes. The mixture will be practically white, twice the size of your original mixture. DO NOT Under beat.
4. On low speed add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and all dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix on low speed for another 45 seconds.
5. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment or use a silpat. Using a spatula spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan, bake for 30-35 minutes.  the cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain buttery and dense.  At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger, the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should be set. if not leave in oven 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Take cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack until cooled. The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.

Liquid Cheesecake
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg.

1. Heat oven to 300F
2. Put the cream cheese In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 2 minutes. scrape down the sides and add the sugar mix for 2 minutes, until the sugar has been completely incorporated.
3. Whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk, then whisk in the egg until completely incorporate.
4. With the mix on medium-low speed, stream in the egg slurry. Mix for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and loose, scrape down the  bowl as necessary.
5. line the bottom and sides of a 6x6 baking pan with plastic wrap.  Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan, put the pan in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Gently shake the pan.  the cheesecake should be firmer and more set towards the edges of the pan, but still be jiggly and loose in the center. If jiggly all over bake an additional 5 minutes and check again.
6.Cool the cheesecake completely, to finish the baking process and allow the cheesecake to set. Once cool, the cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for 1 week.

Apple Cider Soak
1/4  cup apple cider
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
pinch cinnamon
Whisk together in a small bowl until sugar completely dissolves.

 Apple Pie Filling
1 lemon
2 medium granny smith apples
1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold water. Juice the lemon into it.
2. Peel apples, then half and quarter them. Put each apple quarter on its side and cut a small slice down the length to remove the seeds and core. Cut each quarter length wise into thirds  and crosswise into fourths, transfer the 12 pieces to the lemon water.
3. Drain lemon water from apples, and combine them  in a small sauce pan  with the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Over medium heat bring to a boil, stiring gently so as not to break up the apples. Cook for 3- 5 minutes until soft, but not applesauce.  Remove from heat and cool. Once cooled the filling can be refrigerated in an air tight container for 1 week.

Pie crumb
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons water

1. Heat oven to  350F
2. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix on low speed.  Add the butter and water and paddle on low speed until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters.
4. Spread the clusters on a parchment or silpat lined sheet pan. Bake for 25 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. the crumbs should be golden brown and still slightly moist to the touch.
5. .Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe. Crumbs can be stored in an air tight container for 1 week or a month in the fridge or freezer

Pie crumb frosting
1/2 recipe pie crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Combine pie crumbs, milk and salt in a blender, puree on medium high until smooth and homogeneous.
2. Combine butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a sand mixer with paddle attachment and cream on medium high for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. On low speed and the contents of the blender. Beat for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium high and beat for 2 minutes. Mixture should be uniform, very pale,barely tan color, if not beat another minute or 2. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

1  six inch cake ring
2-  3 inch wide and 20 inches long strips of acetate

Assembly:
1. Invert cooled cake on parchment line counter and peel off the parchment from he bottom of the cake.  Use the cake ring to cut out 2 circles from the cake,  these will be your top 2 layers.  The remaining cake scrap will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.

Layer 1
place cake ring on parchment lined sheet pan, line the inside of the ring with one strip of the acetate.  Put the cake scrapes inside the ring and use the backs of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer.
Dunk a pastry brush in the apple cider soak and give the layer of cake a good healthy soak with half the cider soak mix. Spread 1/2 of liquid cheesecake over the cake in an even layer. Sprinkle 1/3 of the pie crumbs evenly over the cheesecake layer. Pat in place. spread 1/2 of the apple pie filling evenly over the pie crumbs.

Layer 2
Tuck the second acetate strip between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first acetate strip, so now you have a clear ring of acetate that is 5-6 inches tall, it will support your cake.
Set a second layer of cake on top of the filing and repeat the process for layer one.

Layer 3
Top filling with remaining cake layer. Cover the top of the cake with 1/2 of the frosting and garnish with remaining pie crumbs.
Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for 12 hours to set the cake and filling.
Three hour before serving remove the cake from the freezer. Pop the cake out of the cake ring and gently peel off the acetate. At this point I used the remaining frosting to frost the sides of the cake. Transfer cake to cake plate and defrost in the fridge until serving time.

Foodie Friday

Pear Upside-Down Cake

The peaches, plums, and nectarines of summer are almost gone,  but the pears, apples and figs of fall are already showing up in stores and farm stands in our area. My neighbor Mrs. M found this Martha Stewart recipe for Pear upside-down cake, and knowing how much we like pear desserts, she passed this along to me.

 The cake is soft and moist with a fine texture, that is not to dense or to airy, but just perfect for soaking up all the caramelized sugars and juices from the pears when the cake is flipped over. This cake is simple to make and has very few ingredients, so the pear flavor really shines. To top it all off, we added a drizzle of butterscotch sauce, which complemented the warm sweet flavors of the fruit and brown sugar, but this cake is equally delicious all on its own. As the days start to get shorter and cooler, we will be making plenty more pear desserts, and I know this one will be making several more appearances. 

Pear Upside -Down Cake

adapted from Martha Stewart

Topping

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3 ripe pears, such as Bartlett or Anjou, peeled and cored      

Cake Batter:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1.  Make the topping: Melt butter in the bottom of a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, stirring until dissolved. Swirl to coat the bottom; remove from heat, and cool. Cut pears into 1/4-inch-thick wedges, and arrange them in a circular pattern over the brown-sugar mixture to cover completely; set aside.

2. Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine

4. Alternating with the milk, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix, on low speed, just until the flour is incorporated.

5. In a large bowl, beat reserved egg whites and the cream of tartar with a hand mixer until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the batter. Transfer to skillet. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly, being careful not to disturb the pears.

6. Bake until well browned on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan, and immediately invert the cake onto a serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.
printable recipe

Foodie Friday

Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake has long been a birthday favorite of Mr. Mimi. Conveniently, his birthday is in the summer when we always have plenty of egg whites left from using just the yolks in our ice cream making. As much as we like spending time on involved recipes, you just can't beat the simplicity of this cake. A few pantry staple transform into a soft and delicate cake, with flavors of vanilla and almond. It is perfect with juicy berries, ice cream, or fresh whipped cream. Our friend Mrs. A makes this cake every year at her 4th of July party since she knows how much Mr. Mimi enjoys it, but she covers her cake with a very decadent boiled chocolate fudge frosting that we all love, almost more than the cake itself.

Although there are minimal ingredients and just a few steps, angel food cake can be difficult to get right. I have tasted my fair share of tough, dry, bland cakes, but this recipe is the only one I use and it has never let me down. It comes from my well used 1950's Betty Crocker Cookbook. The pages are yellowed and filled with hand written notes from when I was a child I learning to cook with this cookbook. My copy was passed on to me from my mother and I will pass it along to Mimi Jr. someday, and I know she will continue making our favorite angel food cake for years to come. 

Angel Food Cake
Betty Crocker 

1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered (confectioner's) sugar *sift before measuring*
1 1/2 cups egg whites about 12
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 cups granulated sugar

1. Pre heat oven to 375. Sift together the flour and powdered sugar, three times.
2. In a large bowl combine egg whites, cream of tarter, salt, vanilla and almond extract. Beat with an electric mixer using whisk attachment until foamy. Add granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift the flour/sugar mixture over the meringue in 3 or 4 additions, gently folding it into the egg whites until flour just disappears before adding more flour.
4. Push the batter into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Gently cut the batter with a knife to release air pockets. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and cake tests done, (tooth pick inserted in cake comes out clean). Remove from oven. Invert cake in pan and cool. When completely cool remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar or frost as desired.
printable recipe

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Baileys Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Food is a fun way to celebrate pretty much every holiday, from bountiful Thanksgiving feasts to smoky ribs and juicy burgers on the 4th of July, and St. Patrick's Day is no exception in our house. We have made the classic corned beef dinner, roasted salmon, colcannon, Guinness braised meats, and multiple loaves of Irish soda bread, all in the spirit of creating a fun St. Patty's Day meal. As we are not a family to leave out dessert, many years ago I tried this Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake to complete our holiday meal and it was an instant hit. It is smooth and creamy with nice chocolaty chunks and just a hint of coffee and Bailey's. It is the perfect way to finish your culinary salute to the Irish.

Baileys Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Bon Appetit March 1989

Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling
2 1/4 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar 
5 eggs 
1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream 
1 tablespoon vanilla 
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Coffee Cream
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons suagr
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 9 inch spring form pan with non stick spray. Combine crumbs and sugar in the pan, stir in the butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake until lightly brown, about 7 minutes.

Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in Bailey's and vanilla.
Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over crust. Spoon in filling and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over top of the filling. Bake cake until puffed in center and golden brown, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool cake completely.

Coffee Cream : Beat cream, sugar and coffee powder until peak form. Spread over cooled cake or dollop over individual slices. Garnish with chocolate curls.

To serve a group, I made mini cheese cakes using a 12-well tin with removable bottom pieces. I ran the tip of a knife around the top of the baked cakes and using the hole in the bottom of the pan pushed up on the bottom piece to remove the cake from the tin. I also used mini chocolate chips in the mini version. I baked the minis for about 20 minutes.
printable recipe

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Flag Cake

Happy 4th of July! This is one of our family's favorite holidays. We can almost always count on great outdoor weather and a lovely party with Mrs. A and her family. Mrs. A volunteers her home and pool, and lots of her famous foods, from homemade pickles to bbq chicken, and everyone else brings something to go along with her amazing spread. With both Mimi Jr. and Mini Me home to help, and we decided to create a festive cake that would look pretty inside and out.

  It is a fun holiday project that can be as easy as your favorite cake mix, or you can try the one below, which is our current favorite. All you need are your cake layers, vanilla frosting, and red, white, and blue jimmies. I had some snowflakes that we used for stars but any white candy, or a few white jimmies would be fine. We also had some marshmallow fondant, so we colored some red and blue and cut out stars for the sides of the cake, but you could use jimmies on the sides or leave them plain.

You need three layers total, so you can either make 1 1/2 the recipe below for three full layers, or simply divide the batter from one recipe evenly into three thin layers. *If you only make one recipe, your layers will be thinner so you may need to reduce your cooking time.* Once your batter is made, add red food coloring to 1/3, add blue food coloring to 1/3, and leave 1/3 white. Bake and cool your cake layers. Assemble and frost your cake with the red layer on the bottom, the white layer in the middle, and the blue layer on top.

To decorate the top of the cake we used a ruler to mark off 1 inch intervals for the stripes and a 3 inch area in the upper left hand corner for the blue/stars. Using rulers as guides (one on each side of the stripe) we covered the cake in jimmies alternating between red and white. 

Vanilla Cake

adapted from Ina Garten

This recipe makes 2  2-inch layers

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

American Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup softened butter
4 cups of sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
pinch of salt

1. Cream the butter and slowly add powdered sugar and beat until fairly well incorporated, mixture will be crumbly.
2. Add salt, milk, and vanilla. Beat at medium-low speed until combined and then increase your speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.
printable recipe

If you prefer you can use cream cheese frosting

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