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The Perfect Cake

Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake (#TheCakeSliceBakers)

by 5 Comments

This is the last cake we’ll be baking in 2018 from The Perfect Cake by America’s Test Kitchen. And what a great cake cookbook it’s been! Our final selection from the book is our choice from any cake in the book and I chose the Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake.

Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

I chose this cake because some of the other bakers in The Cake Slice Bakers had previously made it and it looked so, so good. And you know what? It is so very, very good.

That soft top is lightly soaked with the thick, candy-like glaze and when you invert the cake the top of the cake is now a moist and delicious bottom layer.

Here’s a photo of it right out of oven after it was glazed with the apple cider reduction:

Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

Bret thinks the cake tastes like an old-fashioned apple cake (a compliment, not a complaint), but I think the texture is more tender and not as heavy. I liken it more to an apple fritter cake in a way. Simply delicious.

Besides the great texture, the shredding of the apples is genius. You get tart apples in every bite and I like that better than the bigger apple chunks (although chopped apples work well in my Fresh Apple Cake with Maple Glaze).

The apples along with the lightly spicy, tender cake make for a great cake. And that final apple cider glaze tops it off perfectly. I made about twice as much glaze because it completes the look and the deliciousness of the cake.

Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

America’s Test Kitchen’s Cider-Glazed Apple Bundt Cake is one of those cakes that I’ll make over and over, for pot lucks, special occasions, holidays, and just at home to eat for dessert or with coffee at breakfast.

When you make it, make sure and let the cake cool about 45 minutes before putting the final glaze on (they say 30 minutes, but I say more, please) or the glaze will just soak into the cake and not look as pretty.

Cider Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

Cider-Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Tender, lightly spicy apple cake soaked with an apple reduction and topped off with a sweet glaze. Perfection,

Ingredients

  • 4 1/4 C. Apple Cider
  • 3 3/4 C  (18 3/4 oz) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 3/4 C (3 oz) powdered sugar
  • 16 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 C packed (10 1/2 ounces) dark brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 lb Granny Smith apples, peeled and shredded (about 3 cups)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup nonstick bundt pan with baking spray with flour (if not using baking spray with flour, spray with regular baking spray and lightly flour the pan.)
  2. In a medium heavy-bottom pan, bring the cider to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to about 1 cup (20-25 minutes).
  3. While cider is reducing, in a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice together. Place the powdered sugar into a separate small bowl.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons of the cider reduction to the powdered sugar bowl and whisk until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Set aside another 6 tablespoons of the cider reduction in a cup (for pouring over the baked cake, yum).
  5. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of cider reduction into a medium bowl; add the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour this cider/butter mixture over the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon until almost fully combined (don't worry if streaks of flour remain - you don't want to over-stir it or it won't be as tender). Stir in the apples and any juice they may have created until combined throughout the batter.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake until a skewer (or piece of spaghetti) comes out clean with just a very few crumbs on it, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Rotate the pan half-way through baking.
  7. Transfer the baked cake to a wire rack that's sitting on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any drippings). Brush the exposed surface of the cake lightly with 1 tablespoon of the reserved cider reduction. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto the wire rack.
  8. Remove the pan and brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cider reduction. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes.
  9. Stir the powdered sugar glaze, then drizzle over the cake. Let the cake cool completely (about 2 hours) before stirring. The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Stir the batter gently so the cake won't be tough.

I doubled the glaze for a prettier finished cake (and it's good).

Make sure the cake is fairly cooled before glazing or the glaze will soak into the cake.

The original recipe calls for unsalted butter, but I use regular salted butter. Your choice.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 457Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 555mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 3gSugar: 36gProtein: 6g
© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

by 6 Comments

Updated: September, 2020

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

This Sour Cream Cranberry Pound Cake is the next-to-the-last cake that we’re baking from America’s Test Kitchen’s The Perfect Cake.

Come January 2019 we may not be officially baking from the book anymore, but this is truly one special baking cookbook that will take its place on my carefully streamlined cookbook shelf.

I’m not being compensated in any way when I highly recommend The Perfect Cake if you’re in the market for a new cake cookbook!

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

Although this is what I classify as a fairly easy pound cake, it does take some time to chop up the cranberries, so do that before you begin. The eggs definitely need to come to room temperature, as does the butter.

When using the smaller loaf pan that’s called for, this cake takes over an hour-and-a-half to bake, then it cools for a couple of hours. If you’re using a larger loaf pan, be sure and lessen the baking time and start checking it earlier. So, yes it’s fairly easy to put together, but it does take a bit of time between the bake and the serve.

I use fresh cranberries, but you can also use frozen (don’t thaw before adding). It definitely wouldn’t be as good with dried cranberries, so get fresh if you can.

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

America’s Test Kitchen is spot-on for this pound cake recipe. From the ingredients to the instructions, each step is carefully structured to make sure your cake comes out its best. And it does!

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake is a delicious, lighter-than-usual, wonderfully flavorful pound cake with bits of tangy cranberries scattered through it. (Enough adjectives for you?) This will be a great Fall or Christmas cranberry pound cake to share with friends and family.

We noticed that this delicious cake gets more moist every day. Grab a slice for dessert, a snack, or for breakfast and you’ll enjoy it immensely.

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

Yield: 10 slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Soft, tender, delicious cranberry pound cake. Gets more moist every day.

Ingredients

  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 C (8 3/4 oz) all-purpose flour
  • Salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 C sour cream
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 14 slices and softened, but still cool
  • 1 1/4 C (8 3/4 oz) granulated sugar
  • 1 C (4 oz) fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped coarsely
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300°. Spray an 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan with cooking spray, then lightly flour the pan.
  2. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Sift the flour, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and baking powder together into a medium bowl. Whisk sour cream and milk together in a separate small bowl.
  3. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, again scraping down the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add the egg mixture in a low, steady stream.
  4. Scrape down sides of the bowl, then continue to mix on medium speed until completely combined, about 1 minute (batter may look slightly curdled, but that's OK).
  5. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream/milk mixture in 2 additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Give batter a final stir by hand to make sure everything is blended from the bottom of the bowl.
  6. Toss the cranberries with powdered sugar and 1/8 tsp. salt in a small bowl until evenly coated (to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Fold cranberries into the batter.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and gently tap pan on counter a couple of times to release air bubbles. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out virtually clean, 1 3/4 hour to 1 hour 55 minutes - rotating the pan halfway through baking. Start checking the cake for doneness at 1 hour.
  8. Remove the cake pan to a wire rack and cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on the rack - about 2 hours.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Don't use dried cranberries, please.

I used 2% milk and salted butter.

If you use a larger loaf pan, use the same instructions, but keep checking every 15 minutes after one hour of baking. It won't take as long to bake in a larger pan.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 125mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes

Maple Layer Cake (#TheCakeSliceBakers)

by 12 Comments

Updated: September 2020

I zeroed in on the Maple Layer Cake from The Perfect Cake for The Cake Slice Bakers’s choice this month.

There were three other great choices: Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, Cider-Glazed Apple Bundt Cake, and Pear-Walnut Upside Down Cake, but I just love anything maple!

Maple Layer Cake

 

The second time I made this cake, I doctored ATK’s (America’s Test Kitchen) recipe a little because I wanted more maple flavor.

The end result – a fantastic maple cake with maple cream cheese frosting.

Maple Layer Cake

You whisk the batter ingredients together by hand and it’s unbelievably quick to come together. ATK provided a maple cream cheese frosting for the cake, but I wasn’t very impressed. The frosting isn’t sweet at all to me and has no maple flavor whatsoever.

I love cream cheese on bagels but unless sweetened, it isn’t so great on a cake! I ended up adding almost a half cup of powdered sugar and over a half teaspoon of really good maple flavoring to make it a nice creamy, still barely-sweet, maple-flavored frosting.

Since the frosting they offered wasn’t up to par, on my second cake bake I used a different ATK cream cheese frosting from another recipe of theirs. I included it on the recipe card below instead of the original. It’s great!

Maple Layer Cake

We’re enjoying the cake with the new and improved frosting. The sponge of the cake is moist and so very soft.

It’s kind of strange that after using 1 1/4 cups of maple syrup in the cake from the original recipe, it still had no maple flavoring. Maybe we don’t get the best quality maple syrup in Texas – go figure.

Will I make this cake again? Yes, using the updated recipe. This Maple Layer Cake will be a nice addition to holiday tables and a definite must for pot luck get-togethers.

Looking for more great cake recipes?

Maple Layer Cake

Maple Layer Cake

Yield: 10-12 slices
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Soft, tender maple layer cake with a tasty cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 C (10 oz)   Cake Flour
  • 2 tsp  Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp  Salt
  • 3/4 C plus 2 tbsp  Vegetable Oil
  • 1 1/4 C  Maple Syrup
  • 3 large  Eggs
  • 1/2 tsp  Maple Extract
  • 3 1/2 tsp  Vanilla Extract
  • For the Frosting:
  • 1 1/4 lb   Cream Cheese, softened
  • 12 tablespoons   Butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
  • 2 tbsp  Sour Cream
  • 1 1/2 tsp  Maple Extract
  • 1/4 tsp  Salt
  • 2 1/2 C (10 oz)  Powdered Sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 9" round cake pans, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then spray the parchment. Lightly flour both pans.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, maple syrup, eggs, maple extract, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  3. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are set and the center is firm to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
  4. Remove cakes to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans, peeling off the parchment paper, and let cool completely on the wire rack, about 1 hour.
  5. For the frosting: Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, softened butter, sour cream, maple extract, and salt on medium-high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. beat on medium until the sugar is fully incorporated and the frosting is smooth, about 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 4 more minutes. (Should yield about 5 cups)
  6. Place one layer of the cake on your cake platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting evenly over the top, right to the edge of the cake. Top with the second layer and press down lightly. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Be sure and use cake flour for this cake. If you don't want to buy a whole box of cake flour, see if your local store (Central Market, Whole Foods, etc.) has bulk flours and just buy the amount you need.

I use salted butter in the frosting because that's what I have. I just use a pinch of salt in the frosting instead of the 1/4 tsp it calls for to make up for the salted butter.

I stored the leftover cake in the refrigerator. Before serving the refrigerated cake, I set it out on the counter to get it back to room temperature.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 489mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 7g
© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes

Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes (#thecakeslicebakers)

by 10 Comments

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

I’ve never been a fan of beets, but when these Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes came up as one of the cake choices for The Cake Slice Bakers this month, I thought – why not? They’ll be sweetened, cooked, processed and blended with chocolate. How bad could that be?

Plus, I can eat cupcakes and tell myself they’re healthy.

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

Beets are a very good source of manganese, potassium and copper. They’re are also a good source of dietary fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, iron and vitamin B6. Wow, what a miracle vegetable! Doesn’t change the fact that I always thought they taste like dirt and, when cooked, have a strange texture.

These Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes may have changed my mind. The beets blend in nicely with the chocolate and other cupcake ingredients (including whole wheat flour) without losing the essence of the beet flavor. What a good way to get your vegetables in!

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

The cupcakes are soft, but have a little texture from the beets and whole wheat flour and although the ATK cream cheese frosting recipe goes well with it, I think I’d prefer a thicker, sweeter vanilla buttercream frosting on top.

Don’t get me wrong – their cream cheese frosting is delectable and I’d slather it on a carrot cake all day long. Bret grabbed a spoon so he could clean out the frosting bowl for me. He’s such a big help.

America’s Test Kitchen’s (#atkcake) take on the Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes in their introduction to the recipe was that they are “something similar to a red velvet cupcake minus the dye and plus intense chocolate flavor and a delicate earthiness.”

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

Be sure and wear your latex gloves when cutting and processing the beets. That juice gets everywhere. And it’s very, very red!

Oh, and if you don’t want to mess with trimming, peeling, quartering, processing, and microwaving fresh beets, just used canned. I, unfortunately, thought of that too late. Duh!

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes

Chocolate-Beet Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes

Good cupcakes with a great frosting. Earthy and chocolatey.

Ingredients

  • 12 oz beets, trimmed, peeled, and quartered ** (see notes)
  • 2 oz dark chocolate (70%)
  • 1/2 C (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1/3 C vegetable oil
  • 3/4 C (5 1/4 oz) sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 C (4 1/8 oz) whole-wheat flour
  • Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 1 1/4 lb cream cheese, softened
  • 12 tbsp butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 C (10 oz) powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with liners.
  2. Use a food processor fitted with a shredding disk to process beets until all are shredded. Transfer the beets to a bowl and microwave, covered, until beets are tender and have released their juices, about 4 minutes. Stir halfway through microwaving.
  3. Fit the food processor with a chopping blade and pour the beets back into the processor bowl.
  4. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, microwave the dark chocolate at about 50 percent power, stirring until melted (in 30 second bursts, stirring between times). Whisk the cocoa and oil into the melted chocolate until smooth, then pour the chocolate mixture into the food processor with the beats. Let cool slightly. (Or just used canned beets)
  5. Process the beets and chocolate mixture until smooth, about 45 seconds, scraping down the bowl if needed. Add the sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt and process until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the mixture is completely well-blended, 15 to 30 seconds. Add the flour and pulse until just incorporated (don't over mix), about 5 pulses.
  6. Divide the batter evenly among the liners in the muffin pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
  7. Let the cupcakes cool in the muffin tin for about 15 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Spread with frosting when cool.
  8. To make the frosting: Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-slow and slowly add the sugar. Beat until completely incorporated and smooth, about 3 minutes.
  9. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Spread generously onto cooled cupcakes.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

**Duh...I figured out using canned beets would be tons easier and you could skip the chopping and microwaving part (thus, eliminating red fingers, red cabinets, red ceiling, red dog).

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 cupcake
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 420Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 483mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 6g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes

How to Make a Confetti Cake

by 6 Comments

Everyone loves a festive cake and this Confetti Cake is definitely that! It’s easier to make than you’d think.

Among this month’s selections from The Perfect Cake by America’s Test Kitchen (#atkcake) is this three-layer Confetti Cake and I knew it was the one to make! It’s so colorful and festive, with little sprinkles inside and out. A perfect celebration cake.

I chose this three-layer cake because I wanted to practice my poor-to-nonexistent cake decorating skills. One day I’ll get that absolutely smooth finish so many other bakers get. This time, not so much.

The first hurdle in preparing for the bake was finding out that of my three 8-inch cake pans, one is actually only 71/2 inches! That’s what I get for buying a cheapo cake pan at the grocery store. I don’t recommend that.

No problem. I baked two of the cakes and then after they were turned out, baked the third. Only I didn’t get quite as much batter in the third so it was a little shorter and a bit lopsided. Again – no problem. I filled in the lopsided part with more frosting.

Everything considered, it came out fairly straight. (Now you’re looking back at the cut-cake photo above to see which layer was lopsided. It’s the bottom layer…)

The cake is unusual in that it uses 6 egg whites and no yolks. (I’ll be using those yolks in an upcoming homemade ice cream recipe…stay tuned). The texture is soft and spongy and the taste is quite delicious.

The buttercream frosting from the book is almost too buttery for me (if that’s possible), but it complimented the cake quite nicely. Be sure and mix the frosting until it’s nice and fluffy.

So, How Do I Make a Confetti Cake? 

  • Make a fantastic white/vanilla cake and stir in processed (in the food processor) rainbow-colored sprinkles. You’ll want them processed so you don’t have big, smeary color blobs in your cake. If you’re short on time, use a boxed cake.
  • Make your favorite vanilla buttercream frosting and frost the cake, smoothing the sides and top.  
  • Press in a layer of whole sprinkles about 1″ high around the bottom of the cake. Add some on top, too, if you’d like.
  • Celebrate and enjoy!
Confetti Cake

How to Make a Confetti Cake

Yield: 10 - 12 slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Pretty and delicious celebration cake!

Ingredients

  • For The Cake:
  • 1 C whole milk, room temperature
  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 C (9 oz) cake flour
  • 1 3/4 C (12 1/4 oz) sugar
  • 4 tsp baking power
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 12 tbsp butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
  • 3/4 C rainbow sprinkles
  • For the Frosting:
  • 1 lb (4 sticks) butter, each stick cut into quarters and softened
  • 1/4 C plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 5 C powdered sugar
  • 4-6 drops yellow food coloring

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray three 8" round cake pans, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper and lightly flour the pans.
  2. In a food processor, pulse 1/2 cup of sprinkles until coarsely ground, 8 to 10 pulses. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, egg whites, and vanilla together.
  4. In a stand mixer bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add the butter, 1 piece at a time until only pea-sized pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add all but 1/2 cup of the milk mixture and increase mixer speed to medium. Beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the remaining 1/2 cup of the milk mixture. Beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look a little curdled - that's OK, it'll smooth out later). Remove the bowl from the stand and stir a couple of times by hand. Stir in the ground sprinkles.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops with the back of a large spoon. Bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few clinging crumbs (don't over bake), about 20-25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let the cakes cool in pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, discarding the parchment. Let cool completely on the wire rack (about 2 hours until room temperature to touch).
  6. Make the Frosting: In a stand mixer, beat butter, cream, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Add additional cream by the teaspoon to get desired spreading texture. Add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring into the frosting. Beat until ingredients are incorporated and smooth, 3-4 minutes.
  7. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. If you make this early and refrigerate it to frost the cake later, let the frosting come to room temperature and then rewhip for a couple of minutes until frosting is fluffy again.
  8. Place 1 cake layer on your cake platter and spread about 3/4 cup of frosting evenly on top, right to the edge of the cake. Repeat with the second layer and 3/4 cup of frosting, pressing down lightly to adhere. Put the third layer on top and press down lightly. Use the remaining frosting to evenly cover the top and sides of the cake. Press the remaining sprinkles around the bottom of the cake.
  9. Refrigerate leftovers. Before serving refrigerated cake, bring cake to room temperature to soften the butter frosting.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

It's very important that milk and egg whites are room temperature before adding.

The frosting is very buttery. If you refrigerate it, make totally sure you bring it back to room temperature before serving.

I added sprinkles to the top of my cake because it looked kind of naked without them, I thought. Knock yourself out and put them wherever you'd like.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 468Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 298mgCarbohydrates: 76gFiber: 1gSugar: 55gProtein: 5g
© America's Test Kitchen
Category: Cakes