Birthday Boy, Birthday Cake

Brandon's birthday was Saturday, November 7. His signature birthday cake (to date) is the Better Homes and Gardens Yellow Cake iced with Martha Stewart's Ultimate Chocolate Icing. This yellow cake recipe is simple and very good for that classic birthday cake look, taste, and texture. I have never had this cake flop, except once when I added baking soda instead of baking powder. Lesson learned...

I love to build a layer cake. It's got a structure to be determined (I love to use square pans), then a tedious stacking process, and finally a color palate to choose and apply. It's your own little (or big) creation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's always a learning process. This was my first time spreading the icing with an icing spatula. I HIGHLY recommend this tool. It helps you spread wide sweeps of icing.

The layer cake was a lot of work. I had to bake it, wash the baking dishes, dry it, wash the drying racks, make the chocolate icing, wash all icing bowls and tools, make the colored icing, design and ice the cake, and finally, wash the colored icing bowl and tools! But, even the copious amount of dishes I had to do cannot compare with the piles that Brandon washes sans machine each evening after my culinary escapades. So, I raise this cake to Brandon, a most patient, dedicated, and supportive husband who deserves so much more than I could ever give.