happy birthday jesus cake

every christmas eve I make a happy birthday jesus cake. this year I decided to make a salted caramel cappuccino cheesecake. it got rave reviews & wasn't difficult to make, so I would definitely recommend trying it out. I used this recipe for the cake, but instead of using canned caramel topping (this is a sin in the baking world, by the way), I used this salted caramel recipe. and there was enough caramel sauce leftover to put a dollop on everyone's plate, which made it even better! I think jesus would approve.

happy birthday jesus cake

every year on christmas eve I make a happy birthday jesus cake. I wanted to step it up from last year's cake. I mean, jesus does deserve the best, after all. I used this recipe for a fourteen layer cake. and just to be brazen, I made mine a fifteen layer cake! even the savior himself would be impressed.

here's the building process:

{for scale; a cake as big as your head}

robert's birthday cake

this year I kind of skipped out on robert's birthday. I was out of town. on a trip that I myself planned. not thinking about the date of robert's birthday when I scheduled it months ago. it saddened me a whole lot more than it did him. I don't think boy's really care much about celebrating birthdays like we ladies do.

so anyway, I really tried to make it up to him by giving him some great gifts, making a delicious italian meal & by baking a cake of his choice, which happened to be "marble cake". sigh. I'm not gonna lie- I was seriously disappointed with his choice. I mean, who chooses "marble cake" over a delicious vanilla cake with buttercream frosting? or a rich chocolate lava cake. or red velvet. heck, even carrot cake sounds more fun than "marble".

and then I found this recipe, which saved the day & got me excited about "marble cake": mocha hazelnut marble cake. so there. I made it & it was delicious. sorry for judging you, marble cake.

happy belated birthday, jesus

every year at christmas I bake a "happy birthday jesus" cake. I try to switch it up & make something different every year. in the past, I've done red velvet, coconut cake & a pie. but this year I decided to make a traditional birthday cake for little baby jesus ("dear little baby jesus, lying there in your little manger, lookin' at your baby einstein developmental videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors..." ~ talladega nights). It's not something I would make often... the cake is great, but the sourness of the frosting is definitely different. a nice change from chocolate buttercream.

Yellow Layer Cake

Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers, and, in theory, 22 to 24 cupcakes, two 8-inch squares or a 9×13 single-layer cake.

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
smitthen kitchen, adapted from The Dessert Bible

Makes 5 cups of frosting, or enough to frost and fill a two layer 9-inch cake

15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso (optional, but can be used to pick up the flavor of average chocolate)
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup (I used a bit more)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the chocolate and espresso powder, if using, in the top of a double-boiler or in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted. (Alternately, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave for 30 seconds, stirring well, and then heating in 15 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted.) Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together the sour cream, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Be sure to taste for sweetness, and if needed, add additional corn syrup in one tablespoon increments until desired level of sweetness is achieved.

Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. This should not take more than 30 minutes. Should the frosting become too thick or stiff, just leave it out until it softens again.