Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Seriously, It's All About the Cake

Growing up, birthday cakes were a big deal in my house.

While many of my friends dreamed of Dairy Queen cakes and fancy grocery store sheet cakes... I did not.

Growing up in my family, we always joked that if you were really "loved," you got a homemade cake. To this day, I hate overly-sugared grocery store cakes and ice cream cakes just don't hold a candle to a fabulous homemade cake.

This year, my dad wasn't too excited to make a big cake for the two of us to eat... but we convinced my brother to come home from college to eat cake with us.

So our typical cake is a boxed cake mix - any flavor. This year I used traditional white cake (feel free to freak out - but I don't really like chocolate cake).

So I mixed up the batter and then decided to get a little crazy with food coloring.

And so I ended up with these. I split the batter into 3 rounds instead of 2, so I reduced the cooking time a bit.

After baking them, I frosted it up. The frosting is actually the thing that makes this cake special to our family - it is SOO tasty.

And the final product?

Delicious!

First off, I have to say that I was a bit inspired by this post when I decided to create colorful layers. I am not that creative on my own.

Second, the frosting recipe. It's the most important part of the cake!

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz Cool Whip
  • 1 Box Instant Pudding (I use White Chocolate).
  • 1 Cup Cold Milk
  • 1/4 C Powdered Sugar
To make the frosting, just mix up all the ingredients except Cool Whip in a mixer for a minute or two. Gently stir in the cool whip and voila - delicious frosting. It's a bit runny when you first mix it up, but it firms up as it refrigerates.

So there you have it... MY special birthday tradition - the good cake. Cakes from the store just aren't the same.

And I guess it's only fair to say that I took a 4-ish year hiatus from this type of cake for cheesecake. And since I'm the only one in my family who likes cheesecake.... I would end up eating a 12 inch cheesecake by myself. In about a week. Seriously, it was a sickness. Which is why we had to go back to regular cake.

So I want to know... what kind of cake do you have for your birthday? Do you have any other special birthday traditions?

And most importantly... want to share a piece of it with me?

P.S. Remember that every comment you leave this week enters you to win a copy of The Middle Place. Comment away!

P.P.S. Go wish Sarah (not me Sarah, a different Sarah) a Happy Birthday!

And last but not least.... I just wanted to let you know that Whiter Image is running a 15% off promotion through the month of October with the code Image1. Also, if you use that code they will donate 10% of all sales to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Ok, now I'm really done! Happy Tuesday!

post signature

32 Classy Comments:

Suburban prep said...

FUN Cake
I am sure that every one who has a bite will enjoy and smile when they eat it.

Lucky in Love said...

That cake looks delicious!! Great job. Yum!

And I heart cheesecake too :)

Unknown said...

That cake looks delicious... especially since I am not a chocolate fan either! I told my hubby that we are starting a birthday cake tradition this year, he laughed but agreed!

Kimi said...

That cake is fabulous! I swiped the frosting recipe. Can't wait to try it out!

Unknown said...

What a fun and fabulous cake. I just might have to make one for no reason this weekend!

Holly said...

Very cute cake. Love those colors!

I'm definitely going to try out the frosting recipe!

chelsea said...

i don't like chocolate cake either. just doesn't taste good. and i agree, homemade is better than store bought - but i LOVE ice cream cake. LOVE IT.

Krista said...

What a great cake! I agree, homemade cakes are the BEST! My childhood was full of homemade cakes, and it's the one of my very favorite memories :) --although, to this day I can't eat my mom's homemade frosting. My brothers & I used to eat bowls full of leftover frosting when we were young! That was enough sugar to last me a lifetime! I like either white or chocolate cake, just as long as it's light and fluffy!

Natalie said...

My favorite birthday cake? That's easy! I love, love, love red velvet with cream cheese frosting. My grandmas would always make it for me from scratch - only she called it Red Devil's Food cake. So yummy!

Anonymous said...

Awesome cake! Your blog is great!

Catie said...

Homemade cake is a tradition in my house, too. My favorite is one mom makes with layers of homemade angel food, whipped cream and strawberries that's covered in a layer of thicker frosting. MMMMM.

Your cake looks lovely, by the way!

Christa said...

What a cute and colorful cake! Looks so good!

Gwen said...

I totally say MckMamma's cake too and saved a photo of it so I can make it for Ellie's birthday this year. If you Google rainbow cakes there are other ways to do it by just dropping different colors into the same pan and even cupcakes. I think she might be taking rainbow swirled cupcakes to school this year. :) XOXO

melissa said...

That cake is adorable. Glad you got exactly what you wanted for your birthday - that's the way it should be!

Cake is such a serious subject in our house. Growing up, ice cream cakes were always a big hit, and of course each cake had the birthday person's favorite flavor of ice cream. As I got older I decided I preferred regular cake. This did NOT go over well with my little brother, who LOVES ice cream cake. I think he's still mad at me. :)

This year, I didn't get a cake. My birthday was less than two weeks after our wedding and I think we had done quite enough celebrating me for one month. :)

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful cake! I never would have thought to do that--it looks great.

Robyn said...

I loved your post and I love cake--Definately the homemade kind! My children however wanted the ice cream cake this year.

sstahlberg said...

Cute cake! I agree with you, homemade cakes are the best! I made a rainbow cake like that for my son's first birthday in June, except I covered it in white fondant with cut-out fondant stars on it the same colors as the cake inside.

Jackie said...

Wow, that is impressive! I am an ice cream cake lover. I hated cake until college. Now I will eat Funfetti cake or Red Velvet cake, but other than that...I am still picky!

Alyssa said...

Love that cake! The colors are so fun!

Annie said...

the cake is adorable!!
i love it!!

happy tuesday to you as well :)

KAC said...

Wow that cake is absolutely amazing and SO pretty!

Cole said...

Your cake looks fabulous! I don't like chocolate cake either...

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

I totally make a cake similar to that, except I use lemon pudding. It' soooooooo good! Yours turned out lovely!

Andhari said...

CUUUTTTTEEE CAKKKEEE, i love them

While I love homemade cakes, i also like store bought cakes. Even Blizzard cakes from Dairy queen, still yummy to me. These days however, I'm intrigued with cakes that are shaped like something. In one of my friend's birthday, the cake was shaped like a Hermes Birkin Bag. Awesome!

Blair @ Reasonably Swanky said...

So cute! And it looks so yuumy!

Blackeyed Susan said...

This is so pretty!!! I "starred" it for future use! haha

Anonymous said...

I just read your blog from our mutual blog friend Always The Northerner. I love your blog and that cake is fab! look forward to reading more :)

Molly said...

Your cake is adorable. It looks like right out of a fairy tale, I do agree boxed cakes are way better then a store bought cake!

Chatham said...

Thanks for adding me :) Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Cheerful Homemaker said...

What a cute cake! So fun! I always use ridiculous colors for my dad's birthday cakes. The latest one was a purple bundt cake.

*K said...

A little late but I still want to wish you a happy birthday! Your cake is beautiful!

The Ratpack said...

crap! now I want cake!

I had forgotten to leave you a comment and thank you for the birthday shout out! Your sweet readers even came and wished me happy birthday on my blog! It truly made my day!

Post a Comment

 
Blog Design by Sweet Simplicity