My daughter loves birthday cake ice cream. I had to make this birthday cake for her birthday. Its totally her- the sprinkles, the sweetness, the everything.
I was right it did turn out to be totally her kind of cake but for me not so much. It was too sweet. Its partly my fault as I one and half times the frosting. Why? I don't know. It didn't seem like enough. It is really good frosting though I would cut back on the citric acid a bit. It kind of ruled the frosting a little, rather that the vanilla. I did have to add WAY more confectioners sugar than it called for. It seemed too runny without it. It really would not have held up.
I would make it again if she requested. As for the rest of us in the family we prefer less sweet varieties of cake. More like the European ones.
MomofukuMilk Bar’s Birthday Layer Cake
PUBLISHED: MARCH 3, 2015
SERVINGS: MAKES ONE 6" LAYER CAKE
Source:
Bon Appetit
Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups cake flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup plus
2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles, divided
½ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract, preferably McCormick brand
1¼ cups granulated sugar
⅓ cup vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 large eggs
Crumbs:
¾ cup cake or all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon clear imitation vanilla extract
For The Frosting And Assembly:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup vegetable shortening
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon plus
1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract, divided
1¼ cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon citric acid (or ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice)
¼ cup milk
Special Equipment:
6" cake ring or springform mold
2 strips acetate (flexible plastic paper), each 3" wide and 20" long
Preparation
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13x9" rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and
coat with nonstick spray; set aside.
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and ¼ cup sprinkles in a large bowl. Combine
buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat granulated sugar, shortening, butter,
and light brown sugar in another large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally
scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Continue to beat mixture, occasionally
scraping down sides and bottom of bowl, until almost doubled in volume and very
light, airy, and pale yellow, about 4 minutes.
With mixer on low, add buttermilk mixture until incorporated. Add dry ingredients,
beating until just combined, about 1 minute.
Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp.
sprinkles. Bake until cake is light golden brown, the center springs back when gently
pressed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs
attached, 30–35 minutes.
Remove cake from oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or
freezer (don’t worry, it’s not cheating).
Do Ahead: Store cooled cake wrapped in plastic in fridge up to 5 days.
Crumbs:
Preheat oven to 300°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Combine flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, sprinkles, baking powder, and
salt in a medium bowl. Add oil and vanilla, and using your hands, mix until no dry
spots remain and large clumps form when mixture is pressed together. As though
you were making a crumble topping, break mixture up into clusters (some small,
some large) and spread onto prepared baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until
crumble is light golden brown and crunchy, 10–12 minutes (it will firm up as it cools).
Let cool completely. Do Ahead:
Wrap crumbs tightly in plastic and store at room temperature up to 5 days.
Frosting And Assembly:
Combine butter, shortening, and cream cheese in large bowl of a stand mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until mixture is smooth and fluffy,
2–3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and slowly stream in corn syrup and 1 Tbsp.
vanilla. Beat until mixture is silky smooth and glossy white, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down sides of bowl and, with mixer on low, add powdered sugar, salt, baking
powder, and citric acid until just combined. Increase speed to medium-high and
beat until you have a brilliant stark white, beautifully smooth frosting, about 4
minutes (it should look just like it came out of a plastic tub at the grocery store!).
Do Ahead: Store frosting in an airtight container in fridge up to 1 week.
Assembly:
Place a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment on a counter. Invert cake onto
mat, then peel off parchment. Use cake ring to punch out two 6" rounds from cake
(or, using a springform pan as a guide, cut out 2 rounds using a paring knife). These
are your top 2 cake layers (the remaining cake scraps will form the bottom layer of
the cake).
Line a sheet pan with a clean piece of parchment. Clean cake ring and place it in
center of the pan. Use 1 acetate strip to line inside of cake ring. Place cake scraps
inside ring and use the back of your hand to press scraps together into a flat, even
layer (you never see this layer, so it’s okay that it’s messy—but since it’s the base of
the cake, it needs to be flat).
Combine milk and remaining 1 tsp. vanilla in a small bowl. Dunk a pastry brush in milk
mixture and use half of it to generously moisten the base layer.
Use the back of a spoon to spread about 3 Tbsp. frosting evenly over cake. Sprinkle
⅔ cup birthday crumbs evenly over frosting. Use the back of your hand to press
them in place. Use the back of a spoon to spread another 3 Tbsp. frosting as evenly
as possible over crumbs.
With your index finger, gently tuck second acetate strip between cake ring and the
top ¼" of the first acetate strip, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5–6" tall—
high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Top with a cake round (if 1 of
your 2 cake rounds is less pretty than the other, use it for the middle layer and save
the most perfect one for the top). Brush layer with remaining milk mixture. Repeat
frosting-crumb layering process.
Nestle remaining cake round into frosting. Cover top of cake with remaining
frosting. Use an offset spatula to form decorative swirls, or do as they do at Milk Bar
and shape it into a perfectly flat top. Top with remaining birthday crumbs.
Transfer cake to freezer and freeze at least 3 hours to set cake and filling.
At least 3 hours before serving the cake, pull sheet pan out of freezer and, using
your fingers and thumbs, pop cake out of cake ring. Gently peel off acetate and
transfer cake to a platter or cake stand. Defrost in fridge at least 3 hours.
Do Ahead: Cake will keep up to 2 weeks in freezer or 5 days in refrigerator.
