Birthday Cake for my Little Girl
The decorated birthday cake was ready. And wonders of wonders it turned out to be a family smasher of a little kid's birthday cake: yummy and not too sweetly chocolately, lots of frosting to muck around in for little fingers and delightful pink decorations to make it beautiful to the 3 year old little girl's critical eye.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 4 cups vanilla buttercream
- Various food coloring
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9 inch) round cake pans, dust with flour, knock out excess and line bottom of each with a round of wax paper.
- 2
Whisk together hot water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla.
- 3
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.
- 4
Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
- 5
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
- 6
Reduce speed to low and add flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- 7
Divide batter between cake pans, smoothing tops.
- 8
Bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean and edges of cake begin to pull away from sides of pans, 25 to 35 minutes total.
- 9
Frost and decorate the cake.