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| In what universe do people call this 'easy'? |
That's when I found it. The Versatile Vanilla Cake recipe. It even had a whipped topping recipe to go along with it! I'll admit, I almost broke out in hives when I saw some of the detailed instructions halfway through the recipe. I also had a mini-nervous breakdown when my whipped icing looked nothing like icing (a big shout out to the Mr. for commanding me to leave the kitchen and take a break while he solved the problem). However, the end product turned out great and it was very delicious!
Recipe for Versatile Vanilla Cake (via Martha Stewart)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- Whipped Frosting
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans*, tapping out excess flour. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.
- Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
- Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper underneath. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with Whipped Frosting. Top with remaining cake; frost top, then sides.
Cook's Note
Reserve the egg whites left over from the cake for the frosting. If you don't have buttermilk, substitute plain yogurt* or sour cream (not fat-free).
*The cake pans I used were slightly smaller but still worked out great (shout out to my friend S for letting me borrow them)! Also, as it states in the "cook's note", you can substitue plain yogurt for buttermilk. I did that and it worked just fine.
Directions for the Smash Cake
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| I used a mug that was the same size from top to bottom. |
All I had to do was pour some of the same batter that I was using for the cake into the coffee mug (make sure you coat the inside with butter and flour first). I poured it about 3/4 of the way full since I knew it was going to rise a good bit. I poured the batter into the coffee mug BEFORE I poured it into the 2 cake pans. This way, I was able to evenly divide the rest of the batter between the two pans without having to worry about how much to leave behind for the coffee mug.
I stuck the two cake pans and the coffee mug all into the oven together. I baked the cake pans for about 30 minutes. However, the coffee mug cake wasn't done. I left it in the oven for another 10 minutes and then it was perfect.
I let it cool and little bit and then gently knocked it out of the mug. It was the most perfectly imperfect smash cake for my Little Man! I probably could have used a knife to even it up a little bit, but I was running out of time!
I decorated it just like the bigger cake and then gently placed it on top. Ta-da!
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Hi there!
ReplyDeleteI'm an editor at WhatToExpect.com, and I'd llove to feature this post in a recipe roundup I'm doing on first birthday cakes. If you're interested/would like more details, please email me directly at .
Thanks!
Kara