Let Them Eat Cake!

I always say "it isn't a party without cake" - no really, I say this because it's true. Cupcakes count but in reality, a good solid multi-layered, frosted cake is the BEST for a celebration - especially a Birthday.  Now, I've been known to bake a cake or two (or more if we are really being honest here) for friends and family and my favorite to make* is strangely enough not my favorite to eat. Come to think of it, I don't have a favorite to eat anymore. There was a long period of time when chocolate was the key to my happiness and then it rolled into red velvet but now I'm kind of up for almost anything.  I do have some specific requirements of course, when it comes to cake and which cake is appropriate for what event but in general - cake is a good thing (good God don't tell Martha Stewart I borrowed her tag line - I don't have time for a lawsuit).

Jennine's Cake Rules:

1) If it's my Birthday, I choose the cake - period.  Don't try and read my mind and think you know what I want because you don't. I'm a complex woman dammit - I want to pick my own cake! In fact, I usually want to bake it!

2) If it's your Birthday, I choose the cake - period. Oh sure I'll take into consideration what you have said your favorite is (carrot, butter, cheesecake, etc.) but rest assured the cake I bake will be my choice. End of story.

3) I don't put nuts in my cakes. German Chocolate or not, I don't use nuts. Hate them in baked goods. Plus, some people are allergic - why risk it?

4) If it's a holiday there are specific cakes I bake that do not have a platform for negotiation. They are family traditions or based on my prior holiday menus and your opinion is welcome but not mandatory. St. Patrick's Day is dark chocolate with Guinness. Easter is carrot. July is a vanilla or butter cake made into a trifle with berries. Christmas is red velvet.  You get the picture.

5) If there is a theme to the occasion, this is where the real fun comes into play.  Researching, reading, hunting down new and unusual combinations of flavors to accentuate the theme is half the fun - baking is the other half.  Mexican Fiesta? Tres Leches with a lime Margarita frosting! Spring or Summer get together? Lemon or a zesty orange! Early meeting at the office? Coffee cake!  Oh yes my friends, there's a whole world of cakey goodness out there waiting to be enjoyed.

6) I don't make vegan or gluten-free cakes. I just don't. I need eggs, butter, flour and a sprinkle of love to make these babies and if you choose to go the route of the healthy I salute you but I'm not messing with my cake chemistry because you don't want to eat animal fat. Sorry. I'll save you a carrot from my carrot cake and you can gnaw on that. Love you! Mean it!

Cakes are personal. They are baked with love and great care and show you how special you are or how special you think someone else is. This certainly doesn't mean you aren't special if someone doesn't bake you a cake (as fast as they can), but it may in fact mean that you are more deserving of a pie or a batch of cookies which is a whole other kind of special to be discussed later. It is a celebration of everything that is good in life. So grab yourself some mixing bowls, break out the Madagascar Vanilla and let them eat cake!

P.S. I'm giving you my favorite butter cake recipe below. I'm NOT giving you a frosting recipe because that would give away all my secrets and I can't have that now can I?

*Yellow Butter Cake

 

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk

 

Directions

1. Step 1
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. Step 2
   In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.
3. Step 3
   Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Reinvert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

 

Makes two 9-inch cake layers