Vanilla Birthday Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is a light and fluffy classic, worthy of celebration.
Happy Birthday Superman Cooks! This week we celebrate our blog’s fourth birthday, and we are doing it in style, thanks to this Vanilla Birthday Cake, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. We are huge fans of Deb Perelman’s site and her recipes, so it just made sense to rely on her expertise when it came to baking a classic cake.
It is hard to believe that four years have passed since we started our blog. We have come so far and learned so much. We honestly had no idea what we were doing when we started (which is sometimes the best way to start anything). I believed that Keith had a unique talent for cooking that people would be interested in, and I hoped that I could capture his art accurately with a camera. These beliefs still hold true today, as we continue this adventure together.
As we indulge in this gloriously fluffy and moist Vanilla Birthday Cake, topped with rich chocolate buttercream frosting (as only the best cakes should be), we are taking some time to reflect on our journey and to make plans for the future. Keith’s cooking and artistry continues to impress me on a daily basis. It inspires me to become a better photographer, to find new ways to communicate just how good this food really is.
We are truly grateful for the support we have received over the years: for our dedicated readers and followers; for the brands who have sponsored us; for every person who has made one of our recipes. Perhaps most of all, I am grateful to have discovered this passion in my life, and to share this incredible journey with my best friend.
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table or fine sea salt
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons AP flour
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon cream or whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Heat the oven to 350°.
- Coat an 8" square cake pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.
- Beat in egg, yolks, and vanilla until combined.
- Scrape down the bowl, and then sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the batter and beat until very well combined.
- Add the buttermilk and mix to combine (the batter may look curly).
- Add the cornstarch and flour and mix until the flour just disappears.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out batter-free.
- Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the cake to ensure that it is loose.
- Flip in out onto a cooling rack, and then flip back right side up again onto another.
- Let cool completely before frosting.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- Beat the butter, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl with electric beaters (or paddle attachment for stand mixer) until fluffy.
- Pour in the chocolate, cream or milk, and vanilla and beat until combined, then 1 more minute to whip it further.
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