Baking Projects!

PLEASE don't judge this cake by its frosting!!!

I signed up to Pinterest only to organize all my ideas regarding Julian's first birthday. But then I got addicted to pinning that I do it everyday and and keep on logging in almost every hour. I mostly pinned baking recipes and frosting ideas which resulted to three boards full of wonderful things to do! Problem is there are so many recipes to try and I have only made one of them so far! To be perfectly honest I have a notebook full of recipes too and I haven't baked all of them yet so I thought that it may take a while before I get to try them all. But Julian's birthday is getting nearer and I'm still in the process of finding the perfect cake.

So anyway, I made a white cake  awhile back and it was a hit. But, I wasn't able to frost it decently. I was pressed with time and it was just me and Julian that day. I really wanted to give it a proper decoration but Julian was becoming impatient and was jumping up and down his crib. To make it short, I gave in to his whim. The original recipe was too sweet for us so I had to cut back half a cup. I frosted it with Italian butter cream and I loved it! It was good for slicing and very stable. Since it was a three-layer cake and there were only three of us in our household, it lasted for three days and it was still moist and soft. I honestly like it so much. I even bookmarked it for Julian's rainbow cake. But I'm not stopping! Like I said there are so many amazing recipes everywhere and I wanted to make as much as I can. And that brings me to my Baking Projects. Promise, I won't post anything disastrous. Tee hee! I'm starting this Saturday, just in time for an afternoon snack with my brother. I can do this!

Ingredients

For the cake

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

Italian Buttercream Frosting

6 egg whites, room temperature
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups butter, cut into cubes and softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and coat well with butter or oil.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside 

3. Cream together butter and oil until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another one. Add eggs one at a time, be sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another. Scrape down sides after each addition. Add the flour mixture (in three additions) with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add in vanilla. Beat batter on high speed for 5 seconds until all ingredients are fully incorporated. 

4. Pour batter equally into the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool on the pans for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

For the buttercream

1. Combine the sugar, water and cream of tartar in a mesium-sized bowl and set over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the temperature reaches 238 deg F. (Do not mix once you start the fire and use a candy thermometer for the temperature.)

2. Once the temperature reaches, 225 deg F, start beating together eggwhites and salt until soft peaks in the bowl of your mixer. With the beater at low speed, slowly add the syrup in a steady stream. (Be careful not to pour it on the beater as mixture is very hot and may splatter!) Once all the syrup has been added, continue beatingat high speed until the sides of the bowl registers room temperature (feel the sides with your hands). Set the speed to medium and add the butter one cube at a time. Continue beating until the buttercream hold soft peaks. (You'll know this when you hold the beater upside down and buttercream won't fall off and would hold its shape.) Beat in vanilla.

For a printable version, click here

Cake recipe adapted from Add a Pinch

Italian Buttercream adapted from The Kitchn