A Birthday Cake

Sorry for the delay in sharing with you the recipe for Nicholas' birthday cake. The lawyer in me had trouble posting a copy-righted recipe on the internet. I did some searching and I found some recipes posted online that are, essentially, uncredited versions of the same cake I baked from this book so I feel better about the whole thing. Be forewarned: this recipe uses a cake mix. I love to bake and cook from scratch, but scratch cakes are usually drier and denser than a mix. They are also usually not as sweet. I happen to love the taste and texture, but most people prefer the sweet and soft crumb of a boxed cake. The Cake Mix Doctor helps me strike an easy compromise. The recipes are ridiculously easy, too, so if you are a novice baker you are practically guaranteed success. This cake was a bit sweet for my taste, but absolutely no one else agreed with me-- so there you go. OK, enough talk. Here's the recipe for Snickerdoodle cake and Cinnamon Buttercream frosting I found online.

CAKE

1 Box Plain White Cake Mix
1 cup Whole Milk
8 TBS butter, melted
3 Large eggs
2 Tsp. vanilla
2.5 Tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch pans. Place all ingredients in bowl and mix on low for one minute, scraping down the sides as necessary. Increase mixer speed to medium and mix for 2 more minutes, again scraping down sides as necessary.

Divide batter into prepared pans, smooth down top with spatula, and place both pans side-by-side in the oven. Bake for 27-29 minutes, or until golden in color and the cake springs back when you lightly press it with your finger. Remove from pans after an initial cooling period of 10 minutes or so. Then take out of pans and allow to completely cool on racks, about 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the frosting.


CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

8 TBS butter, room temperature
3.75 cups Confectioner's Sugar
3 TBS milk
1.5 Tsp vanilla extract
1.5 Tsp cinnamon

Place softened butter in mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add Confectioner's Sugar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend on low until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and mix until frosting is light and fluffy.

Frost your now cool cake layers as usual.

After the cake is frosted, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes so the frosting can stiffen up. After that, you can slice, eat, and store in the fridge for a week.

Enjoy!