Food on Friday 8. Birthday Cake.

So, late again - but here's today's Food post.

Being a recent graduate school grad and working at a government fellowship left me (more than) a little low on funds this year, so I offered to bake my sister a cake, ANY cake, she desired for her birthday.  This was a simple enough request and I received a simple enough answer: funfetti cake.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with funfetti cake, a picture below:

Funfetti Cake

So, being an aspiring gourmand, I looked up homemade versions of a white cake and even looked up how to make homemade sprinkles from scratch!  But no, she didn't want ANY of that.  She just really wanted funfetti cake with NO icing.  I mean, I'm not a fan of icing either but a cake with no icing just looks ugly and naked.  I wanted to make her a BEAUTIFUL FABULOUS BIRTHDAY CAKE.

Finally, I convinced my sister to let me make a frosting for people who don't like frosting (of which I am one).  And she caved.  The process, below.

The recipe for the cake is from the box.  I found the frosting recipe at Our Best Bites, and OHMYGOODNESS they are my new favorite website in the WHOLE. WIDE. WORLD.  Seriously, I've bookmarked every recipe they post, sweet, savory, meat, dessert, ALL. OF. IT.  I've made a few of their recipes since discovering their site (you can see my links from previous Food on Friday posts).  Also, I love that there's such a devoted following of readers who try the recipes and add suggestions and comments.  I've read through their hundreds of comments to tweak a few of the recipes.

Now, onto the CAKE.

Prior to assembly

Clockwise from top left: an upside-down cake cooling, mint green frosting, and bottom layer already frosted with star sprinkles. 

The upside-down cake is the 2nd layer and about to go onto the frosting in the middle "gluing" the 2 layers together, I wanted to make the bottom was completely cool and wouldn't melt the in-between frosting.  And although the frosting recipe warns against adding too much liquid element, I found that it dealt with the liquid food coloring just fine.

Frosted and encircled with star sprinkles

I could definitely learn to frost a cake smoother.

Final product!

Cross-section of a slice

Definitely could've made MORE frosting and put MORE in between the 2 layers.  Also, could've used 2 boxes of cake mix and made a bigger/higher cake.  Also, perhaps I ought to invest in a cake slicer/leveler.  It'll depend on how many more cakes I foresee baking.  I have to admit, I really like cupcakes as an alternative as "mini-cakes."  You'll see some mini-pies coming up soon!

P.S. If you have not heard me rant about this frosting in person, just know that I have been baking things JUST to serve as frosting receptacles, aka a vehicle to get the frosting into my mouth.  It's THAT good.