Vanilla Layer Cake with Bittersweet Buttercream

Did You Know? The history of birthday cakes come from the Greeks, who would take their round, moon-shaped cakes to the temple of Artemis-the Goddess of Moon. The tradition of placing lit candles on these cakes signified the glowing moon, and many believed the smoke of the candles carried their wishes and prayers to the Gods who lived in the skies above.

It was my Mom's birthday last month, so I went with the usual 'I'll-cook-for-you-since-I-have-no-money-to-buy-you-anything' present. A yellow cake with chocolate frosting is what she requested, so that's exactly what I made, jazzed up with a little heath bar of course. I love baking for birthdays, and cooking up dishes that are unique to the tastes of who they're intended for. For my mom, I went with the classic 1,2,3,4 cake. I mean it's all over the web for a reason - it's good, really good. The whipped buttercream frosting on Smitten sounded amazing, so I topped it off with that, and sprinkled some toffee bits all over the top.

The day I made this was unbelievably hot and humid, so I had a hard time keeping the frosting from melting. It wasn't a problem for too long, as we ate our fair share of cake pretty quickly, and shared the rest with our neighbors. If you're tempted to refrigerate this cake, I strongly urge you not to. I put a few pieces in the fridge overnight, and they dried out terribly. I later read that butter cakes should never be chilled for that specific reason. Other than that, this cake will definitely be one of my go-to recipes. Next up will be a cupcake version for sure.

In other news, my bakery has been pretty successful these past few weeks, and me and Chris couldn't be more excited. We have an event at Felt Night Club in Boston on July 8th, so we're really looking forward to that - a lot of great advertising. They host girl's nights every Wednesday, and the 8th is chocolate-themed. I've already got our menu planned out, but if you live in the area, I'd love to meet some of you, so contact Felt for all the details. I've also set up a Facebook page for Sweet Inspirations, so check that out, and make sure you become a fan! We can use all the support we can get. I've put a Facebook widget on the bottom of this page, so click over from here or there. Thanks!

Vanilla Layer Cake with Bittersweet Buttercream
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Bittersweet Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans*, set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter, then dropping flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*You'll notice only two layers in my cake. I used two 9-inch pans, along with 5 or so cupcakes.

Bittersweet Buttercream
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler or metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk to blend well. Remove from heat and let stand, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise.

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, and on medium speed, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate cream and whip until lighter in color and somewhat stiff, about three minutes. Add in the confectioners sugar, whip again, and continue to add until you have reached your desired consistency.

Sweet Inspirations: Daisy Cakes

Did You Know? Daisies are not one flower. A Daisy is made up of two types of flowers - disk florets and petal-like white ray florets. The Disk florets are at the center and the ray florets are at the periphery, arranged to give the impression of being a single flower.

Chris and I had our second cupcake order over the weekend for Sweet Inspirations, and this time it was for a bachelorette party. The bride is a huge fan of daisies, so one of her friends requested daisy cupcakes from us to go along with the theme of the wedding. After throwing back a few ideas between the two of us, we settled on these, and couldn't have been happier with the result. And from the looks that we got when we delivered them, we were reassured that the bride would absolutely love them.

A vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream was asked for, so with a little gel coloring, we tinted the centers yellow, and piped creamy white petals around them, but not before applying a thin layer of frosting to the base beneath. I love how the petals fan out around the soft serve-like centers, giving the cupcakes a bit of height. The only thing left to do was to come up with one of our signature quotes, and Chris was all over that aspect.

Being a philosophy major, Chris thought it would be a unique touch to deliver all of our baked goods with a personalized quote to fit the occasion. This time around, he went with one of his originals, channeling his "inner girlfriend" to come up with something special. He pretty much nailed the whole sisterhood thing down with this one. And like I said before, if you live in the South Shore area, and are looking for something special for your next party, send me an email, and we'll think of something to fit your tastes, quote and all.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
Adapted from the Joy of Baking

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar, in the bowl of an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups with batter about 2/3 to the top. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with the vanilla buttercream, and decorate as desired.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the confectioners' sugar, scraping down the bowl halfway through. Add the milk, and the rest of the sugar, and continue to beat until you've reached your desired consistency. Be sure not to whip too long, or the frosting may begin to separate.

Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.