Semi Homemade French Vanilla Birthday Cake

Semi Homemade French Vanilla Birthday Cake

I tripled the recipe below:

1 box of Betty Crocker French Vanilla or your favorite box of cake mix

ingredients on back of box:  (eggs, water, oil)

extra ingredients to enhance 

flavor & moistness (per box):

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 pack instant vanilla pudding (dry)

1/2 cup buttermilk (replacing 1/2 cup of water, see below)

1 tsp vanilla

Well, I'm sure no professional cake decorator, but I do have a lot of fun making the boys smile on their birthdays!  It all began simply because money was tight a few years back & it turned into a family tradition.  The boys start talking about what they want their cake to look like months in advance, then I start googling to figure out how on earth I'm going to pull it off! LOL

First, I came up with a semi-homemade version of a french vanilla cake!  All you need to do is follow the directions on the back of the box, except for the following: replace 1/2 cup of the water needed with 1/2 cup of buttermilk.  Then, add 1/2 cup of sour cream, plus 1/2 a box of dry vanilla pudding mix & 1 tsp vanilla.  (I tripled this recipe for the cake above.)  Combine well & pour into a very well buttered & floured baking pan. (You know, butter then lightly dust the entire pan with flour & shake out the excess)  I personally like to use throw away aluminum pans, it makes getting the cake out a cinch. 

Now, you will need to bake according to whichever box mix you choose, however you may need to increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.  When the center is set, it's done!  Let the cake cool completely & then, here comes what makes the whole thing work, put it in the freezer! Yep, the freezer is your friend & makes everything work out right.  It makes the cake easier to cut without crumbs & many cake artists tell you it makes the cake extra moist.

If you are just icing the cake, without cutting it into a certain shape, you're done!  Let the cake completely freeze.  Later, you'll take it out to ice & it's much easier to decorate a frozen cake.  However, if you want shapes, only let it freeze for about an hour (just so that it has started to freeze).  Then, remove cake from freezer, turn out onto your surface, cut into your desired shape & return to the freezer until completely frozen through. (If you use throw-a-way pans, you can just bend back the sides & that's why I like them) To make the Lego cakes above I tripled the recipe, then poured the batter into one extra large throw-a-way pan & one regular sized thow-a-way pan.  I used the large pan to cut out 2 rectangles & the regular pan to cut out 2 squares.

When you are ready to frost the cake, remove one shape from the freezer at a time.  Many bakers will tell you to do a crumb layer, which means to add a very thin layer of icing to hold down all the crumbs & then return to the freezer until set.  (It's a great idea if you have time, however I went slow & did just fine without the extra layer... it's all about time).  If you are interested in the Lego cake, the bumps on the Legos are simply iced marshmallows that are cut in half.  Ice them off the cake on a toothpick and then place them pack on the cake, remove toothpick, & smooth the top again.

If you don't have an icing recipe you like, here is my easy one:  I just do the back of the C&H powdered sugar box.  It's the whole box of sugar, plus 1 stick of butter & 1/4 - 1/3 cup of milk. (The amount of milk depends on how thick you like your icing)  Plus, here is the secret, I add in 1-2 tsp of almond flavoring.  It makes such a great flavor on a cake!  You could use whatever icing recipe you have, just sub out the vanilla for almond.  To get the desired color, I separate the icing into bowls & add 4 drops of color until I get the result I'm after.  Here's a good tip:  don't throw out the icing until the party is over!  I had a split in one of mine & so wished I would have held onto the extra icing!  Here is another tip: I used my cake server to spread the icing. I frequently cleaned it off & heated it with warm water (then dryed it) to make the spreading nice & smooth.

There you have it!  Well, that's the detailed version!  The simple one is in a glass pan, frozen, then frosted.  The complicated version takes more time, but fills up your heart with a lot of memories that will last a life time!