Sunday, March 1, 2015

One special birthday cake...butterscotch chip with butterscotch frosting


A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of making my nephew's, 6th birthday cake.  This cake took one Uber car ride to the airport, one airplane flight, a couple more car rides until it made its way from D.C. to the bowling alley in Charlotte.  The tricky thing, you know besides all of the different modes of transportation, was that the cake weighed at last 15 pounds....no joke.  This was a pretty big cake to take on an airplane.  It was two 9" x 13" inch vanilla cakes with butterscotch chips layered on top of one another, with a thick layer of butterscotch frosting between the layers and coating the outside.  Plus, some fondant so I could have this birthday cake be extra special.  It was definitely a hit, and the best present I could have given my nephew.  My sister-in-law even called it the "Best cake EVER."  So, if you like butterscotch as much as my nephew, Cameron, then give this cake a try and enjoy! (P.S. you can totally make this as cupcakes, or as a simple three layer 9" round cake.)



I had fun playing with fondant and using my new letter cutters.


The cake traveled in this brown box without the bowling balls and pins.  They had their own special container.  When it was making its way through the x-ray machine at the airport, one of the TSA officers asked what's in the box?  After hearing it was a cake, he yelled over to the gentleman working the x-ray machine..."cake coming through." 


Happy Birthday time...



He was so excited about this cake...it made my day.


Checkout that butterscotch frosting.

Vanilla Butterscotch Chip Cake with Butterscotch Frosting: (Vanilla cake recipe adapted from Homemade Decadence by Joy the Baker)
*if you want to make this as a sheet cake, this recipe will fill up one 9" x 13" cake pan, I doubled the recipe.
4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butterscotch chips, chopped

Butterscotch Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons milk

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray your cake pans with non-stick cooking spray, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3.  In the bowl of a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition.  Beat in the vanilla extract.  Reduce the speed to low (or if your me, this is when I whisk things by hand.) add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix just until combined.  Add 1/2 of the buttermilk in a slow stream and beat until combined.  Add another 1/3 of the flour, mix and then whisk in the remaining buttermilk, followed by the remainder of the flour mixture.  Then gently fold in the chopped butterscotch chips.  Divide the flour among the prepared cake pans.

4.  Bake until golden brown on top and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool in the pans for 20 minutes before inverting on to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.  While the cakes are cooling prepare the frosting.

5.  Melt the butter over medium low heat. Stir in brown sugar and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt and return to a boil.  Boil for 30 seconds, stirring constantly then remove pan from heat and cool until lukewarm, about 20 minutes.

6.  Transfer butterscotch to the bowl of your electric mixer and add 1 tablespoon milk and powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add 1 more tablespoon milk and beat until smooth, adding additional milk a little at a time if needed to reach desired consistency (additional milk will depend on how much your butterscotch has thickened as its cooled - I use 2 tablespoons milk total). Note this frosting is smooth and silky, not light and fluffy.

7.  Once the cakes have cooled.  Level each cake by cutting off the rounded part of each cake so they will lay flat on top of each other and frost with the butterscotch frosting.  Serve and Enjoy!

*Best stored at room temperature.




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