Some much anticipated and celebration-worthy news flowed into the Besotted kitchen last week, to which, the only appropriate response was a confection that screamed “CELEBRATION!”

Now, normally, when eyeing the dessert section of my cookbooks and magazines, I tend towards the rustic sophisticate desserts – things like modern Apple Tarte Tatin, Honey Cream Peach Pie, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie – basically, anything that is part throw-back, part modern chic, baked into a buttery crust.

But, the problem is, Peach Pie says “lazy, end-of-summer supper”, and I needed this dessert to say “WHOO HOO, you did it!” The only logical solution was to go a big, fat cake, stick a bunch of candles in it, nearly burn down the kitchen with the flames, pour an ENORMOUS glass of milk, and revel in the good news.

This cake came from an ‘Advance Reading Copy’ of Baking in America by Greg Patent. Way back in the day, I used to work for a cookbook catalog company – two of the many perks were being able to spend your idle time perusing their vast cookbook library and to take home any ‘Advance Reading Copies’. This is the pre-publication status of a book, meant for the reader to review the content, but not worry about mundane things, like a table of contents, index, etc. Naturally, that makes the book a tad more difficult to actually use, but the price was right, and, as it turns out, so was the cake!

I was leery of this ‘white cake with chocolate frosting’ recipe, only because they are so often a major disappointment and not worth the calories. Store bought, box-cake, and wedding cake catastrophes have left me thinking of white cake as nothing more than a delivery device for frosting so sugary, you can actually feel the sugar granules gliding over your tongue. Perforated tastelessness with gummy frosting was not what I had in mind for my celebration, but the picture on the front of the cookbook looked so enticing (why are we so easily swayed by such things?!), and the recipe looked very promising, so I decided to give it a go, and it was amazing!

When was the last time that you had homemade white cake? Right, I couldn’t answer either. It seems like such an outdated relic, why would anyone go to the trouble of making white cake from scratch, when there are perfectly reasonable boxed alternatives? And, the simple answer is, because it’s wholly fantastic. Dense, moist, creamy, and totally delicious, this cake emerged from the oven like a dream. All it needed was a little chocolate buttercream frosting to make it truly ethereal, and the hard work and effort (yes, it does take more effort than boxed cake) was well worth it.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Golden Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting, Serves 12
Adapted from Baking in America

Ingredients:

For the Cake

1 Cup Butter, at room temperature
½ Tsp. Salt
2 Cups Sugar, divided
2 Tsp. Best Quality Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs, separated
3 Eggs
3 Cups Cake Flour, sifted
1 Cup Milk

For the Frosting

4 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces
½ lb. Cream Cheese, at room temperature
½ Cup Butter, at room temperature
½ Tsp. Best Quality Vanilla
¼ Tsp. Best Quality Almond Extract
2-3 Cups Confectioner Sugar, sifted

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper and sides of the pans with butter. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the salt, ¼ cup of the sugar, and the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Beat in 1 ½ cups of the sugar, ¼ cup at a time, allowing each addition to be incorporated before adding the next.

Scrape the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. While the batter is beating, you can get on whipping your egg whites. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until peaks start to form.

Add the remaining ¼ cup sugar in four parts, whisking between each addition, to incorporate the sugar. Be careful not to over-whisk… the egg whites and sugar should be thick and glossy, but not meringue-stiff. Set the egg whites aside and return to the batter.

Add the egg yolks to the batter and beat for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Add the whole eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute in between each addition. It does seem like a lot of waiting around, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Scrape down the bowl. While on medium-low speed, add the cake flour and milk in alternating thirds (1 cup cake flour, 1/3 cup milk), allowing to beat in between additions until fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, as necessary.

Fold 1/3 of the egg whites gently into the batter. Once mostly incorporated, add the remaining 2/3 of the egg whites to the batter and fold in until fully incorporated.

Divide the batter between the two round cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, get on with the frosting….

Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, makeshift or otherwise.

Put cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and almond extract in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioner sugar ½ cup at a time and beat until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate to the mixture, and beat on medium-low speed until full incorporated. Set aside.

Once your cakes are out of the oven, let them cool completely on a cooling rack. When you’re ready to frost them, plop about ¾ of a cup of frosting onto the top of one of the cakes, and, using a flat spatula, spread elegantly around the cake. Carefully, lift the other cake and set on top of the frosted cake.

Check the sides of the cake for any major bumps and smooth them away with a paring knife. Plop another ¾ cup of frosting on top of the second layer of cake, and smooth with the spatula just as you did with the first. To frost the sides, I added a tablespoon or so of frosting to 8 equidistant spots and smoothed around the side with the spatula.

Stick a big candle in the top, pour a big glass of milk, celebrate, and enjoy!