Birthday Cake!

ahhh yes its once again josh's birthday - and what kind of a wife / crazy person would i be if i didn't bake an entire layered cake, sized to feed 8 -10 for the two of us to enjoy on a Tuesday evening? every year i ask josh "what kind of cake do you want this year" - as if he's in kindergarten (seriously that's how i speak to him). and every year he just shrugs as if he will eat any cake i make, which is just untrue. and with high spirits i start naming off all kinds of fancy pretentious crap hoping that he will either: a) get tired of the sound of my over enthused voice and just say yes to one of them or b) cave and think of something he really wants. alas neither happens and i end up getting tired of the sound of my own voice and say something along the lines of "or do you just want a generic yellow cake?". Bingo - every friggin time; that's what he wants. so then i have to launch into the frosting options... i'll spare you.

so here we are - one super cute birthday cake, made for a man but designed for a child.

YELLOW CAKE

5oz butter softened

1 1/4c sugar

2c flour

1/4c cornstarch

4 eggs

1tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4c buttermilk

*preheat oven to 350F, grease two 9" cake pans

*sift together flour, starch, leavenings & salt

*in separate bowl cream butter to light

*add sugar and beat to light and fluffy

*beat in eggs one at a time just to incorporate

*beat in vanilla and almond

*(by hand)add in flour mix and buttermilk alternatively - ending on the flour

*pour into prepared pans and cook 20-25 minutes until toothpick is clean

*allow to cool completely before icing

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

6oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

8oz butter, softened

1c powdered sugar

2 tbs water or milk

1 tsp vanilla

*melt chocolate over double broiler, take off heat and allow to cool

*cream butter to light and fluffy

*add vanilla and water / milk, cream for 3 minutes

*beat in sugar to combine

*add in chocolate and beat just to combine - do not over whip