pretty party cake

For Easter I made this cake from the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. A-ma-zing. You cannot go wrong with anything from that book. The only thing I might recommend changing is the amount of butter used in the frosting. I had no idea buttercream frosting really is just that--butter.


Yellow Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting
from Cook's Illustrated
serves 10 - 12


Cake Ingredients
1/2 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
16 TB butter, softened


Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350 and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Whisk mild, eggs, and vanilla in small bowl.
3. In stand mixer, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, an salt to combine. Add butter, 1 TB at a time and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add all but 1/2 cup milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high for 1 minute. Add remaining milk mixture and beat 30 seconds.
(At this point, I divided the batter into three bowls and dyed them with food coloring.)
5. Divide batter evenly among pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Let cakes cool on racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely before frosting.


Frosting Ingredients
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 pound butter (I would only use three sticks)


Instructions
1. Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of stand mixer and set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch water barely simmering. Whisk gently until mixture is thin and foamy.
2. Fit stand mixer with whisk and whip ugh mixture on medium-high for 5 minutes. Reduce speed and add butter, then whisk on high for 1 minute. Let frosting set for two hours and give it one last whisk.