Funfetti Cake

My husband has two favorite cakes, Angel Food and Funfetti. I was on Pinterest on day and found a recipe for Funfetti Cake without using the box mix. I couldn't wait to try it so imagine my excitement last week when I asked Brandyn at work what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and he said, "Well my favorite is Funfetti." I was happy to hear I was finally going to get to try the recipe I found. Last Saturday I gathered all of my ingredients and set to work. A few tastes told me that I'm not a huge fan of Almond Extract and to always follow my instincts and add more vanilla. I got the mix finally where I liked it and then set out to add the sprinkles. Who doesn't love sprinkles?! So I measured out the 1/3 cup sprinkles, poured them in, stirred and then wondered where the sprinkles went. That was not enough sprinkles! So in went another 1/3 cup and then finally a few more shakes of the container and I was happy with the sprinkle distribution through out the batter. Into the oven they went and patiently I waited. Once they were out I let them cool and finally put them into the freezer. I wasn't planning on decorating them until Sunday and of course it was hot out so the freezer seemed like the perfect place to store them. Sunday I whipped up a batch of Buttercream. Why have I never tried frosting the cake when it's frozen before?! It was so much easier and so less crumbly! I did not have to do a crumb coat. Within 30 minutes I had a completely frosted and decorated cake! All and all it was a success.

The Basic Buttercream Icing

A few years ago my friend, Amy, and I took a cake decorating class at Michael's. It was something fun to do together and I never really expected to use the skills I learned. The buttercream icing recipe I use is the Wilton's Buttercream Icing. I do not use shortening when making it though. I hate the taste and greasiness of the shortening. My basics are butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. I have found that I only like the flavor of the CH powdered sugar and what brand butter you use makes a difference too. 

My Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe

I don't use a box mix for my chocolate cake except on rare occasions. So most of the time I use this recipe that I found on bigoven.com with a few modifications.

Ingredients
2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups All purpose flour
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
I never measure my vanilla and always use at least double what the recipe calls for.
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
I use half Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa and half Hershey's Cocoa
1 cup hot coffee Freshly brewed
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 large Eggs
1 cup milk
If I have half and half or even better heavy whipping cream I use that instead.
1 stick Butter or margarine unsalted recommended
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 cups Powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
If I have half and half or even better heavy whipping cream I use that instead.
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
I never measure my vanilla and always use at least double what the recipe calls for.

Preparation Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 9 inch round baking pans with non stick cooking spray. I refuse to use cooking spray on my cake pans. Always, always use Crisco and for this cake I dust the pans with cocoa Combine first 6 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the hot coffee and mix well with a spoon (batter will be thin). Pour batter into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and then remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting. Frosting: Melt the butter and stir in the cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistancy. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.