Baking and Bunting: Lemon Buttercream Vanilla Cake

Full disclosure: The final cake that I made was my second attempt because the first one went way wrong. I had originally envisioned a beautiful fluffy vanilla cake made from scratch… what I got was a buttery blob whose taste couldn’t even be masked by my yummy lemon buttercream frosting. In the oven it smelled like someone had just microwaved popcorn and sure enough when I sampled it it tasted like a movie theater. So it was back to square one!

Baking for me can sometimes feel like a temperamental science experiment. Are you letting it cook too long? Did you add too much baking soda? Will it be too dry? Questions like that loom over me when I’m baking in the kitchen. I’m still fairly new to the the cooking/ baking game so of course there is still a lot I’m learning and making mistakes is just a part of it!

:RECIPE:

1 1/4 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 cup sifted cake flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

3 TBSP vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

:DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together all the dry ingredients

(flours, baking soda/powder, sugar and salt)

2. Spray 2 nine inch round cake pans with baking spray.

3. In an electric mixing bowl beat together the vegetable oil, shortening and vanilla. Using the whisk attachment beat the mix until light and fluffy. 

4. Beat the eggs in one at a time. 

5. Fold in the dry ingredients alternating between mixing in the buttermilk and the dry ingredients. 

6. Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes. Then let cool before assembling with the frosting. 

:FROSTING:

1 C. butter (softened)

8 oz. cream cheese

Zest of 2 lemons

1 TBSP lemon juice

3 1/2 - 4 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1. Beat butter, cream cheese and lemon zest.

2.Stir in lemon juice.

3. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it has reached a desired texture.

*After you've mixed the buttercream, let it sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to let it harden so its easier to frost. 

Then frost it and ENJOY!

If you want to learn how to make the bunting… keep reading!

I've always had an obsession with bunting and I'll find any excuse to make it! I've never made it on this small of a scale before but it was super easy. All you need is paint chips, scissors, string, glue gun and kebab sticks. It might seem strange to have a supply of paint chips on hand but I'm a girl that likes to DIY and I find a ton of uses for them!

1. Cut out 6-7 triangles.

2. Put a dot of hot glue on the back of the triangles and start attaching them to the string.

3. Double knot the string around the kebab sticks and you've got yourself a decorative cake piece!