Perfectly fluffy and sweet yellow birthday cake, served up with an airy chocolate frosting. Perfection for your birthday celebration!
My favorite cake to make is snack cake, for several reasons. A) It’s easy. B) It’s called a snack cake so I can eat it for a snack… or breakfast. 🙂 C) It’s pretty foolproof. Though I’ve been making layer cakes for years, they are still a wee bit intimidating because of all the what if’s. What if the cake doesn’t come cleanly out of the pan? What if a layer breaks when frosting it? What if, what if, what if? But the thing is… for birthdays, when you want to make people feel special, it’s the fancy cakes you want to make. And to me, fancy cake=layer cake. So every year for Ben’s birthday I try to make him a fancy layer cake. He’s always a yellow cake kind of guy, so for a recent* birthday he asked for his favorite… with some whipped chocolate frosting. Apparently buttercream or cream cheese frostings aren’t exactly his fave. Who knew?
This was truly the cake [and frosting] of his dreams. The yellow cake was soft, moist, and fluffy… sweet, but not too sweet–the perfect pairing for a light and airy whipped chocolate frosting. Before this, I had only had whipped vanilla frosting. Whipped chocolate frosting is pretty darn good! It has the essence of chocolate, without the overwhelming richness that most chocolate frosting has. In a word, we thought it was incredible! And since it only contains two ingredients–heavy whipping cream and chocolate chips–it’s so easy to make, and even easier to spread. No complaints here. 🙂 Enjoy!
*when I say recent, I mean… ummm, well, 2014. Yikes. I am b-e-h-i-n-d. 🙂 Cake is still cake though, right?!
one year ago: Italian Tortilla Rollups & an epic bridal shower menu
two years ago: Granola Tips
three years ago: Tortellini Soup
Yellow Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
cake from Cinnamon-Spice & Everything Nice; frosting from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
for cake
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 large eggs
for frosting
- 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour desired cake pans [I used 2 round 9″ cake pans but original recipe has other options- 3 round 8″ pans or a 9×13″ rectangular pan].
To make cake, combine all ingredients in a large bowl, then use an electric mixer to mix on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl as you go, then increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Divide batter between cake pans, then bake for about 25-30 minutes if using the 9″ pans [or 35-40 minutes for the 9×13 or 30-25 minutes for the 8″ pans]. Bake until the cake just pulls away from the sides of the pan and the top is golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean as well.
While cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Heat the heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan on low heat until it comes to a simmer. Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl, then pour the hot whipping cream on top of then. Let rest for 5 minutes, then gently whisk until combined, smooth with a glossy texture. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours until completely chilled and cold. An ice water bath can speed up the process. When cold, use an electric mixer to whip the frosting into soft peaks.
When cake is done, cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Frost cake immediately and consider storing in the fridge to keep the frosting set until ready to serve.
The Pajama Chef 