Kitchen Quarantine, Day 21, Cake and Frosting

Three weeks in; Saturday I had no energy for cooking, so it was tuna sandwiches for dinner.  Any port in the storm.  I asked Dr. C. what he'd like for dinner on Sunday, and he said chili, so not having much interest in that, I decided what I really needed was cake and frosting.  Our son, Ryan was coming for dinner, so I decided to make the cake that I make for his birthday.  This is a great recipe from Tate's Bake Shop's cookbook.  The frosting is the key, it's a recipe that was in an old food processor cookbook from Abby Mandel who, in the 70's made the Cuisinart food processor the go-to piece of equipment if you could afford it.  The original food processor base is still in use by my daughter, we've replaced the work bowls over the years, but it's still going strong.

Ryan's Birthday Cake

Serves 8

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract

3 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and coat the inside of two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray.  

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter,sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.  Add the eggs/yolk, one at a time beating until smooth.  

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, alternating with 1/3 of the buttermilk, beating until the batter is smooth.  

Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.  

Bake for 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool the pans for 10 minutes, then release from the pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.  

For the Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup sour cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until softened.  

Add the sugar and cocoa powder, and beat until combined.  

Add the sour cream and beat until spreading consistency, adding more sour cream if the frosting is stiff.  

Frost the cake. 

For the Food Processor:  Put the sugar and cocoa powder in the work bowl fitted with the steel blade.  Process on and off to blend the mixture.  Cut the butter into bits, add to the work bowl, along with the sour cream.  Process until smooth.   

Cook's Note:  The cake can be frozen for up to 6 weeks.  Any leftover frosting can be frozen as well.  The entire cake (frosted) can be frozen.  

So, with my craving satisfied, it's now day 22, and I'm wondering what's for dinner.  We are in for several days of grey and rain here in San Diego, I'm thinking about comfort food.  So, stay well and stay safe, they are saying this will be one of the worst weeks for transmission, I urge you to stay home.