I made this cake for a friend's birthday. Well, my boyfriend's friend's birthday, who I am now friends with due to the making of this cake. The cake was amazing. It was ridiculously moist, the layers came out perfectly even, and it definitely beat any "yellow cake from-a-box" that I've tasted. The buttercream was amazingly smooth (though melty, so it had to be refrigerated) since it was made with actual butter. Three sticks of butter, I might add. Next time, I may actually substitute a half cup of shortening for a stick of the butter, just because it would cause the frosting to hold up better at room temperature (read: during a summer in the south. It is currently 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside). And I'm actually immensely proud of myself for the decorating. I, for once, kept with simplicity, with a touch of elegance. Plus, with the frosting as smooth as it was, the roses were literally a breeze. I only made three, and put all three on the cake. I used to only use shortening in buttercream for decorating, since it allows roses to hold up better (since butter turns to mush at room temperature), but these turned out rather nicely (even though it was hard to make them without them falling over).
Overall, the cake was even more delicious than it was gorgeous. Or so I heard. I got nothing back but an empty cake carrier.
Yellow Layer Cake
Adapted from smittenkitchen
I made a few changes from the original recipe. I used all purpose flour instead of cake flour (since that's what I usually have on hand), whole milk instead of buttermilk, and changed the baking temperature and time to 325 degrees F for 45 minutes (to ensure more even baking, resulting in flat layers). Since my pans are nonstick, I also skipped the parchment paper and just greased the pans using a canola oil cooking spray. The rest of the instructions were followed exactly as written.
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (or 4 cups - 6 tablespoons all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 cups whole milk)
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugal with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.
Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Loosely adapted from smittenkitchen's Instant Fudge Frosting
This buttercream is smooth and feels light, but the combination of cocoa powder and actual melted chocolate really brings out a nice, semi-bitter chocolate flavor. If you prefer your chocolate to be milder, try using milk chocolate in place of semisweet, or omit the cocoa powder. If you feel like you would rather have more chocolate flavor, then by all means keep adding more until it suits your taste.
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle Toll House brand)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
1 pound (about 4 cups) powdered or confectioner's sugar
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Melt the chocolate chips, either using a double-boiler (or bowl over a pot of simmering water), or the microwave. Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and beat using electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Taste and add more chocolate/cocoa/sugar if necessary.
Assembly:
Invert cake pans to release cake layers. Place first cake layer on a cake board or platter. Using an offset spatula, ice the top of cake with some of the chocolate buttercream for the cake filling. Place second layer on top of first layer, and frost top and sides of cake completely with buttercream frosting. Decorate as desired.
(Since I did white roses on top of my cake, when I made the buttercream frosting, I actually combined and beat all the ingredients except for the chocolate and the cocoa powder with the mixer, set aside about a cup of the white frosting, then added the other ingredients and beat it with the mixer.)
Making buttercream roses
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 cups whole milk)
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugal with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.
Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Loosely adapted from smittenkitchen's Instant Fudge Frosting
This buttercream is smooth and feels light, but the combination of cocoa powder and actual melted chocolate really brings out a nice, semi-bitter chocolate flavor. If you prefer your chocolate to be milder, try using milk chocolate in place of semisweet, or omit the cocoa powder. If you feel like you would rather have more chocolate flavor, then by all means keep adding more until it suits your taste.
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle Toll House brand)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
1 pound (about 4 cups) powdered or confectioner's sugar
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Melt the chocolate chips, either using a double-boiler (or bowl over a pot of simmering water), or the microwave. Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and beat using electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Taste and add more chocolate/cocoa/sugar if necessary.
Assembly:
Invert cake pans to release cake layers. Place first cake layer on a cake board or platter. Using an offset spatula, ice the top of cake with some of the chocolate buttercream for the cake filling. Place second layer on top of first layer, and frost top and sides of cake completely with buttercream frosting. Decorate as desired.
(Since I did white roses on top of my cake, when I made the buttercream frosting, I actually combined and beat all the ingredients except for the chocolate and the cocoa powder with the mixer, set aside about a cup of the white frosting, then added the other ingredients and beat it with the mixer.)
Making buttercream roses
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