An Easter Cake

    May's Real Simple magazine had a big spread on cake...one of my favorite things!  The cakes featured were simple yet they looked delicious and classic.  I was ready for a simpler creation after the birthday cakes I made most recently for Jaxon and Ace's birthdays.  I couldn't wait to try one of these recipes, so I figured why not Easter.  I made two of the same cakes, one for my Grandma's house and one for Arnauld's mom's.

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups whole wheat flour (the recipe called for white, but I substituted here)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Method
Preheat oven to 350
1. Butter your pan/pans and then line the bottom with parchment paper.  Butter the bottom again and dust with extra cocoa powder.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar on medium high, until the mixture is fluffy.  This should take about 2-3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low.  Add the flour mixture, about one cup at a time alternating with about half of the milk.  You'll make an AB pattern, flour, milk, flour, milk-gotta love being a teacher!
5. Transfer the batter to your pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cook for 15 minutes before turning onto cooling racks.

I made 2 9 inch round cakes and it took about 30 minutes to bake.  You can also use:
2 eight inch pans and back for 30-35 minutes
1 9x13 rectangle and bake for 35-40 minutes
24 cupcakes baked for 20-25 minutes

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Method
1. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter on high until it is fluffy.  This should take about 3-5 minutes.
2. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add sugar and then the vanilla and salt.  Beat until the frosting is smooth.

This frosting came out a lot better than the mess I made for Jaxson's birthday cake.  I used this frosting straight from the mixer instead of putting it in the fridge so I think that helped.  It was a lot easier to frost.  Thank goodness!

When I saw these candy roses in Real Simple, that was my whole motivation to make this cake.  They were so dainty and sweet.  Although the Real Simple roses were a lot daintier than mine,  mine are a bit more massive.  They are made by using a rolling pin to flatten gumdrops.  When you do this, dust your rolling service with granulated sugar.  I used a similar method for the letters on Ace's rocket ship cake.