Perfect Party Cake and Frosting

I know it may seem a bit presumptuous of me to put the word “perfect” in the title of this blog post but there are a couple of reasons why it’s there.

1. The chocolate cake is light while still remaining moist and sturdy.
2. Because the cake is sturdy it makes for easy decorating, trimming, etc.
3. The frosting is smooth, creamy, light and not overly sweet.
4. The frosting is easy to make smooth and holds up well for long periods of time without refrigeration.
5. Both the cake and the frosting are absolutely delicious.

To me all those things add up to a perfect party cake. I used the recipes in my Cars themed birthday cake and the Timmy Time themed birthday cake below.

While I’m still on the search for the perfect vanilla cake I’ll be sticking with this chocolate cake and not bothering to look for any others. It really is just perfect. And, although I do think it’s possible to have more than one perfect recipe for the same thing, why look for another when I already have this one?

As far as frostings go, you really can’t beat this recipe for its ease and flavour. It is my favourite frosting to date. I’m sure I’ll try a more complicated recipe, like Swiss Meringue, for some adult cakes here and there but this will definitely be my go to. Especially for decorated party cakes.

Need some tips on stacking cakes? Check out the Cars Themed Birthday Cake post.

Chocolate Party Cake

Makes: 3, 8 inch cakes (9 cups batter)

Ingredients

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water

Instructions

1. Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Stir in water until evenly blended. Pour into 3, 8-inch round cake pans, sprayed with cooking spray and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Tip

1. For 6 inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time. For 10 inch cakes fill with 5 3/4-6 cups batter and bake for longer then the suggested time.

Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250g) butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.
2. If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

Tip

1. This recipe can be easily doubled or halved to suite the amount of frosting needed for your cake. I would do 1.5 recipes to frost and fill a 3 layer 8-inch cake (as above).

Cake adapted from Taste of Home. Frosting adapted from Donna Hay.