{food} New cake recipe

I have a white cake recipe which I got from my cooking class in high school. It has been my go-to recipe for white cake since that time. The past few times I've made it, I realized that it is a little dry, and doesn't really have the texture that I am looking for in a white cake. This week I went on a hunt around the internet to find the perfect white cake recipe. I am looking for one that produces a moist, tender, fluffy white cake. Not too sweet, and not too heavy or dry.

The one I am focusing on right now is one that I found on thekitchn.com. This recipe is actually for a "funfetti" cake. Perfect for birthdays... only, I just want a simple white cake. So I just left out the sprinkles.

photo credit: www.thekitchn.com

My favorite cake in the world is white cake with homemade chocolate fudge frosting. This time, however, I wanted to put together a 4 layer cake with homemade strawberry freezer jam (made by yours truly), and cream cheese buttercream frosting.

When I started with this recipe I hadn't read through all of the instructions, so when I was getting my ingredients together I was taken aback when I saw that I was supposed to put all of my dry ingredients in the bowl first. What? If you bake often, you know that typically the sugar is placed in the bowl first with butter and shortening, and is creamed together. Then eggs are added. And then dry ingredients are mixed in alternately with milk.

So I did as I was told-- I separated the eggs and placed them in a small bowl with part of the milk, and the vanilla. I put the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl, and added the butter and shortening. The result was a very thick dough, similar to a bread dough. I was trusting the recipe because I wasn't really sure what to expect, or what it was supposed to look like. 

I don't know why I was even skeptical after reading the post where I found this recipe. It sounded like a great recipe. And, once my cakes were out of the oven looking wonderful, I was excited to move on to the next step.

I've never made a layer cake with more than 2 layers. I wanted to make this one with 4 layers. After seeing my cakes after they were baked, I was a little nervous about being able to cut them in half.  Next time I may try 8-inch, or 6-inch pans to get a little more hight on the finished cake. I cut carefully and was able to get them into 4 layers with only a slight variance in thickness. 

I had read online that it was wise to pipe a border of frosting around each layer, just inside the edge, so the jam won't seep through the layer and onto the outside of the cake. I did this after I spread a third of a jar of jam on each layer. Also, it helped to use the bottom of a cake as the bottom layer, and the when I placed it's "top" I placed it upside-down. it helped keep the next layer flat. 

What remained was just to frost the cake like I would any other cake. 

Of course I IMMEDIATELY cut a piece to try. I didn't realize that my fiance was in the house with me. I was "mmm-ing" and "oooh-ing" and "oh that's good"-ing, thinking I was alone. Then from the living room I hear "it's that good, huh?"... HA! oh well. He knows how excited I get over food. When I find the perfect recipe and I can execute if perfectly, that is my reaction. 

Yes, I ate it all.