Last night my twin sister officially took off to begin her new adventure in Sydney, Australia for two years! I am going to miss her to Ayers Rock and back, but couldn’t be happier for her.
I decided to bake Shan a goodbye cake for her going away party on Saturday night!
Darby’s Pub was so good about hosting our group, and kept the cake in their kitchen for the perfect moment when we wanted to light up Shan’s face with surprise.
The cake’s rich, fudgey icing and simple vanilla centre made for a decadent yet fuss-free celebration dessert. Perfect for sharing with all of Shan’s closest buddies.
I chose the recipe for Shan’s goodbye cake from my fabulous baking cookbook Anna Olson Back to Baking.
Vanilla Fudge Cake
Yield: 1 8-inch 2 layer cake. Prep Time: 25 mins. Bake Time: 30 minutes. Decorating Time: 30 minutes. Bake Temp: 350 Deg.
Vanilla Cake Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temp 1 1/3 cups sugar 3 eggs, room temp 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup cake and pastry flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup buttermilk
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans. (I used 2 9 inch and it was fine. Cake was slightly shorter than with 8 inch pans) 2. Beat butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. 3. Sift flours, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. (I “sifted” them with by whisking them together.) 4. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk at low speed, scraping the bowl after each addition. Divide batter between the 2 prepared pans and spread evenly. 5. Bake 30 minutes or until a wooden tester (shish kabob skewer) comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before turning out onto rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp. 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups icing sugar, sifted 2/3 cup sour cream
Frosting Directions
1. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water stirring gently until melted. Remove bowl from heat and cool the mixture to room temp. 2. In the bowl for your stand up mixer, combine chocolate mixture with cocoa, vanilla, and 1 cup of icing sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. Add sour cream and remaining cup of icing sugar. Beat until smooth. 3. Place first completely cooled cake on serving platter and spread 1/2 cup of frosting over top of cake. Place second cake layer on top of first and spread a think layer of frosting on top of the cake. Be careful to keep crumbs from blending into frosting. Spread the remaining frosting onto the sides of the cake, using an offset spatula to swirl the frosting.Optional Decorating Icing Recipe
(for lettering and other decorative stuff on top!)
1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 cup confectioner's sugar (icing sugar) 1/8 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp heavy cream or milk
Decorating Icing Directions
This recipe makes the perfect amount for decorating one cake. I’t always frustrating to make way too much icing for your cake, and wind up having to throw most of it out. 1. Beat butter at medium speed and add sugar. Cream together. Increase mixer speed and add vanilla, salt, milk. Cream together for 3 minutes. 2. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add a little more milk. If it needs to thicken, add more sugar. Add desired colour to icing. (I used pink) 3. Place round tip icing tool into icing bag. Secure tip to bag. Fill icing bag with icing. Use cursive writing to decorate cake. (Much easier.) Here are some resources for cake decorating: Wilton Martha Stewart I added an edging with some gold cake paint that I purchased at Michael’s. Thought it deserved an extra little glamour for an incredibly lady like Shannon Julia!
This cake is great answer to any kind of celebration cake project you need to create. It’s easy, delicious and impressive. Happy baking!
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