19 Years and Counting!!

Photo By Marissa Morton on Unsplash

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!! Yes, I'm officially that awkward age between being able to vote and entering your early twenties. I am one year closer to ending my teenage years which is absolutely INSANE to me. Time has flown by WAY too fast. It feels like yesterday I was turning ten getting my hair done at Libby Lu and sticking sparkles to my face while simultaneously dancing to Hannah Montana surrounded by all the girls in my fourth-grade class.

One birthday, I may have been in the sixth or seventh grade, four of my best friends and I decorated some cakes at my kitchen table. I thought I was going to be a professional baker at that point in my life. We spent hours piping, making fondant (oh yeah, we were serious), and applying icing to our own individual cakes. Well, we finally finished and my mom was about to take a picture of all of us when...MY FACE WAS SUDDENLY SMASHED INTO MY BEAUTIFUL CAKE. My face was covered in blue icing and crumbles of what remained of my masterpiece of a cake. Once it happened it me, it was every woman for themselves. We went around the table smashing each individual's face into their beautifully decorated cake until you couldn't see the table anymore. All you could see were sprinkles and a mix of vanilla and chocolate cake crumbles. I think I was sneezing blue icing FOR A WEEK! To this day, it's my favorite birthday memory.

Since you brought up the whole cake thing, okay maybe that was me, I thought I'd share my favorite birthday cake recipe! Red velvet and cream cheese icing is THE BEST combination in the world. You can't argue with me because...I'm right. I have it every year and I want you all to try it!

So, normally when I make a cake I use this amazing thing called pre made cake mix...I know the sixth grade aspiring professional baker in me would be so dissapointed. BUT, this year, I want to try something new. So, I'm going to try this new recipe and see if it actually makes a difference if it is made from scratch or not and I want you all to try it with me!

Ingredients:

For The Cake

3 cups of all purpose flour

3 cups of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of cornstarch

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon of baking soda 

1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

1 1/4 cups of warm water

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar 

2 tablespoons of red food coloring

For The Icing

16oz of cream cheese, softened 

1 cup of butter, softened

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 nine-inch cake rounds. Dust with flour and tap out the excess.

2. Mix together flour, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer using low speed until combined. 

3. Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring. Beat on a medium speed until smooth. 

4. Throw it all away and go back to the store and buy a pre-made mix because this is just too much work.....just kidding!

5. Divide batter among the three prepared pans.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake meets the toothpick test (stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean).

7. Cool on wire racks for 15 minutes and then turn out the cakes onto the racks and allow to cool completely until frosting.

8. Now onto the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time until frosting is smooth. 

9. Assemble and frost the completely cooled cake.

This recipe was originally found on The Stay At Home Chef.

When I get back home in a couple weeks to celebrate with my family, making this cake is going to be on the top of my to-do list. I can't wait to see if it tastes any better than my usual pre-made cake mix. Thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to chatting with y'all next week! Love ya.

XOXO

Olivia Shea