"The Best Birthday Cake"

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You know, some days you’re just in the mood to bake a birthday cake. Even if there is no birthday to celebrate. Yesterday was one of those days for me.

I am not usually a huge fan of yellow cake, as I am much more of a chocolate kinda gal. But, the chocolate sour cream frosting was enough to make me cave and try this one out. The frosting is wonderful- very chocolate-y with a nice bite, not too sweet. The cake itself was good, although I’d add a bit more vanilla next time (I’ve adjusted the recipe below). A great cake to have in your rolodex. Adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com.




Cake Recipe

• 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (a few minutes), 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 pans, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

• 15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 teaspoons instant coffee/espresso
• 2 1/4 cups sour cream, room temperature
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup (you might not need all of this)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate and coffee in a double boiler, or in the microwave, at 15 second increments, stirring between each session. Once melted, stir into the sour cream until well blended. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and stir. Pop in the fridge until it is spreading consistency (less than 30 minutes). Take out of fridge and frost your cake to your liking. Eat and enjoy!