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Who’s ready for cake!?
And Friday?!?! And celebrations!?!?
Me, me, me, ME!! ?
Over here in my little world, it’s been a big week and a half. First things first, Asher’s eighth birthday. I think the little girl had a pretty fun week. She seemed to love all of her presents and the finale to her celebrations was her Harry Potter birthday party with four of her closest friends. The fun isn’t completely over, come October 1, we will finally be heading off on our trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando (thank you to those of you who recommended Orlando). I must say, I’m pretty psyched to go myself.
Second, BABY goats!!. Oh those baby goats…aka kids, as they’re officially called. These two little goats are the cutest little animals I have ever seen. Like puppies have nothing on them. What’s even cuter though? Watching Layla, their mom, play her motherly role. Since Layla is a first time mom, she didn’t quite know what to do for the first day, but her motherly instincts have kicked in, and now the only time she ever leaves their side is to eat, and even then, it’s never for very long. Watching their bond grow stronger each and every day has been incredibly awesome. Layla will not even let my cat Snape (or Snap or Snappers as Asher calls him) near them. She stairs him down until he runs off. <–for real.
Third, my sixteen year old brother, Red, got his driver’s license. Ahhh, what? How is that even possible? It feels like yesterday that he was the baby of the family. I cannot believe he is driving now…YIKES.
Fourth, this little site of mine is growing and I could not be more exited about it! Woot Woot! 🙂
So you see… it’s clearly a cake kind of Friday… obviously the best kind of Fridays.
OK, so here’s the deal with this cake. Typically I would never bother with a vanilla cake, but my cousin Abby convinced me that a vanilla cake with sprinkles (nonpareils…the round ones) was something I had to make. I’ve had it ingrained into me from a very young age that the only cake worth eating was chocolate. No seriously, I never, ever, ate vanilla cake growing up. I’ve probably only ever had just a few bites before making this cake.
I know, I know, that is kind of crazy, but you just do not know my mom. It’s all chocolate, all the time. The other thing my mom tried to instill into me? Sprinkles = BAD. I think she did this, one, because they messed too much with her pure chocolate on chocolate flavors, and two, because she knew they just added more unnecessary sugar, and three (and probably most importantly), she HATED to have to clean them up. Sprinkles and Nerds (do you guys remember those?) were pretty much outlawed in our house.
Well, I am breaking all the rules today and making a vanilla cake… and even adding (just a few) sprinkles…ooops.
Thankfully, I no longer live at home, and thankfully my mom never saw the ENTIRE BAG of sprinkles I spilled on my pantry room floor. Totally serious, I am forever a klutz.
Anyway, I made a vanilla cake, but since I love my chocolate too, I had to go with chocolate frosting. Like I just couldn’t do vanilla on vanilla. Maybe someday in the future, but just not today. Today needed mounds of whipped chocolate buttercream (again, cause we are celebrating baby goats over here, with more to come any day now!) atop my moist and fluffy vanilla cake!
Alright, so this cake?! Even though it is vanilla. I still LOVE it. It’s fluffy and moist, and has an intense vanilla flavor, which is possibly my favorite thing ever. That moist and fluffy and vanillay cake is the perfect pairing with my favorite whipped chocolate buttercream, like it is SOOOO GOOD!
So good, that even my sprinkle hating, chocolate only, freak of a mother had a piece… and truly enjoyed it!
Um, that’s what I call a successful vanilla cake! 🙂
You may have noticed that I didn’t cover my cake fully in sprinkles…ahh, sorry, but like I said, I spilled them all over the floor. If you have a serious love for sprinkles, feel free to go as crazy as you’d like!
I do actually prefer a cake probably minus the sprinkles. Well, I think just a few can be awesome, cause they’re so fun, but too many and, I dunno, they start to take away from the flavor of the cake. I guess it’s true what they say, like mother like daughter. ?
Ahhh, sooo here’s what I’m thinking, birthday or no birthday, this Vanilla Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream should probably be made… ASAP… just sayin.
Vanilla Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream.
Servings: 18 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 709 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cup cake flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 whole eggs + 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 sticks (2 cups) salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs and egg yolks. Add the greek yogurt and vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with flour until just combined.
- Pour the batter among the 3 cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Grab 3 large flat plates, line them with wax or parchment paper and invert the cakes onto the paper lined plates. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer). Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or until there are no streaks of white. Add 4 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes more or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate curls or whatever your heart desires.
Notes
*if you do not have cake flour, use 1 cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons. Then add 2 tablespoons cornstarch. This will equal 1 cup of cake flour. Repeat this four times so you have 4 cups of cake flour. Then measure out the required 3 3/4 cups cake flour (reserve the 1/4 cup). **Vanilla cake adapted from Martha Stewart.
Cause really, all Fridays should include some kind of cake!
This post was originally published on September 9, 2016
What a totally perfect, beautiful cake! I love a perfect classic, and you def nailed it! Lovely!!
Thanks so much Sarah!
Definitely a perfect cake! Love this!
Thank you Katrina!
Hooray for birthday cake (happy b-day Asher) and baby goats!! Also, love that sprinkle bokeh 🙂
Yes! Hooray for all the many things that have happened this week! I am just so excited! Thanks so much Todd!
Happy Birthday to Asher! Harry Potter is great you guys are going to have a blast!
This cake tho – can I dive right in? Need to make this very soon.
Thank you I am sure we will have a ton of fun! Haha yes!! Wish I could give a piece to everyone its just so delicious! lol! Thank you Kathy!
Some rules were just made to be broken Tieghan! What a perfect cake for Asher’s big birthday! Sounds like fun and delicious cake was had by all!
Yes most definitely was! Thank so much Mary Ann!
This recipe, as always from you, looks YUMMY!!!
But can I make it even if we’re not celebrating a birthday??
YES duh! If it were up to me I would be making this all the time haha! Thanks so much Ed, I hope you make it and enjoy it!! And your reason can be, because its Friday!! ?
Oh Dear !
It took me months to figure your “secret”: completely perfect measure of elegance and “easy going”.
You are great !
God bless,
Haha awh thank you! This is so sweet! ?
OMG Tieghan that’s awesome I loooooved Harry Potter World when I was there it was such a dream come true! You’re going to have the best time! 😀
I am SOO excited and I really think we will all have a great time! Thanks so much Chloe!
Tieghan this cake looks amazing and a happy happy birthday to little Asher!! Hope you are all excited for your Harry Potter park trip! I have it on my list to go places super soon!! 🙂
Yes we are all so so excited for it!! Thank you Ami!
yum! can’t wait to try it
YAY! I hope you love it! Thanks Meredith!
That icing looks sensational!! I love making this kind of cake – omnomnom!
Rxx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Thank you so much!! ?
And here I thought Asher’s birthday is over…silly me! Lol We’ve always wanted to go to that Harry Potter in Orlando too because it wasn’t there yet when we were there. I’m sure you’ll all have fun! Anyways, I truly understand why it’s a Friday birthday cake day with all that celebrations! A lot to be thankful for, Tieghan! And that cake looks luscious and I love that pic of the paddle attachment filled with frosting!!! Pls tell me you swiped your finger in that a few times maybe? Lol and oh I’ve seen the baby goat in the Instagram and it’s so precious ?
I may have gotten one or two swipes, but that is one of Asher’s favorite parts! Lol! Thanks so much Sheila, there is a lot to be thankful for this week and I am super excited about all the new things!
Today is my wedding anniversary and boy, would I looooove this cake for dessert!!! MInus the sprinkles, I’m team Tieghan’s Mother!!
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Happy anniversary Miranda!! This would be so perfect for dessert! Anyway I hope you enjoy your day! ?
Vanilla cake is the best! I make my cakes with some sprinkles in the cake mix before baking – makes it rainbow cake when cut – very pretty and a big hit .
What an awesome idea! I will have to try this out!! Thanks Linda!
love that gif of asher blowing out the candles! and this buttercream looks so dreamy ?
Haha she is such a cutie! Thanks so much Heather! ?