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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Birthday Cake

White Cake with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Gelee

I can't possibly be the only one who bakes their own birthday cake, and yet, when I tell people, they act surprised. How about you? Do you bake your own birthday cake? If you visit my blog (often), you are probably a (home) baker. And you probably don't enjoy store bought cakes that much. Partially hydrogenated frosting anyone? Okay, okay, I can be a bit of a cake snob :o)

While browsing Sandie's blog, Crumbs of Love, I was very impressed with the white cake she made for her daughter's birthday. What I liked the most was the wonderful crumb of the cake and the fact that it had sour cream in it. When my birthday came around, I had the perfect excuse to try out this recipe! One could argue that a birthday is not a time to experiment with new recipes but I had a good feeling about the recipe :o)

A slice of birthday cake heaven :o)


I followed the recipe pretty closely with the following exceptions:
  • Substituted 1 oz of butter with oil. I find it gives a butter cake extra moistness.
  • Baked the batter in two 8" cake pans and two 6" pans.


The cake batter came together very quickly. When baking the cake(s), make sure you don't over bake them. I used the 6" cakes to make a two-layer cake for a friend. Initially I was going to cut the 8" cakes in half and make a 4-layer birthday cake but then I ran out of time.

For the filling and frosting, I chose a simple sweetened whipped cream and a thin layer of raspberry gelee. I thawed out frozen raspberries. Then added just a little water and some sugar (to taste) and some lemon juice. Gently boil until the raspberry mixture thickens a bit. Add a little gelatin dissolved in water to give it stability so it doesn't roll off the cake. I just winged this so I don't have a recipe for you (sorry).

Bon appetit!

Final thoughts/tips:
  • I loved this cake and so did hubby. It had a nice fragrance to it from the almond flavoring. The cake was moist and tender. And the soft billowy whipped cream was the perfect addition while the tangy raspberries and the crunchy seeds offered a great contrast. Hubby gave this a 8.5 out of 10 rating.
  • My friend (the recipient of the 6" cake) loved it too.
  • Leftover birthday cake went to work and received good reviews as well, on both looks (you made that??) and taste :o)
  • If you'd like to give this a try, check out the recipe on Sandie's blog.
  • Last but not least, a big Thank You to Sandie for sharing her recipe. It's a keeper!!

15 comments:

  1. Looks delicious and i love how you frosted it! I have to go check out Sandie's blog and copy her recipe! :D Happy Birthday!!

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    1. Thanks Faithy. Definitely try out this recipe!

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  2. WOW, This is one perfectly gorgeous white cake Hanaa, it is just amazing and it looks so much better than any store-bought cake. Happy Birthday to you my friend! Lots of love and wamest hugs. Have a great day,
    Cheers
    Mamat

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, MamatKamal. It's a LOT better than store-bought cake, ha ha. Have a great week, my friend!! :o)

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  3. Happy Belated Birthday, Hanaa! Your cake looks very pretty and delicious! You made a great job with the frosting, very neatly done! I am lousy when it comes to frosting, can never do a clean, neat job! Yours look wonderful!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the birthday wishes, Joyce. You know, practice makes perfect. Just keep trying :o)

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  4. What a beautiful cake!! Love that you tried the recipe and enjoyed it. Oh, and I make my own birthday cake every year (I too am a cake snob!)
    Best, Sandie

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Sandie. Glad to hear I'm not the only cake snob around :o) Thanks again for sharing your wonderful recipe!!

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  5. Cake snobs rock!
    Store bought birthday cakes? Over my dead body! Your birthday cake looks very nice.
    Herzliche Glückwünsche nachträglich, und ein gesundes neues Lebensjahr!

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    1. Ha ha. I know! It's hard to go back to store-bought after eating good homemade cake. Und vielen Dank!!!

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  6. Oh piping skills piping skills!! I think we need to do another session together next time... Completely dedicated to you teaching me piping skills!
    You did a great job Hanâa, and congratulations on your birthday.

    (Yes I do make my own birthday cake and yes to the experiment with new recipes)

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  7. Happy belated birthday, Hanaa!

    You are not the only one that bake your own birthday cake. I did the same thing too. I get the satisfaction baking my own cake and see lots of dedications in your too :D

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  8. Happy Birthday Hanaa and what a delicious-looking cake!!

    I am a total cake/pastry/baked goods snob too...glad to know I am in good company ;) Nothing is as good as homemade with real ingredients!

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  9. Happy belated birthday, Hanna! I always bake my own birthday cake, too. This year I opted for a (bought) sour cherry pie, however.

    Your cake looks so pretty, and any cake with sour cream has got to be good!

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  10. Hi Hanna, thanks for visiting my blog earlier. You have a very lovely site here with all the deliciousness. And am loving this cake. Look awesome!
    Hope you're enjoying your day.
    Kristy

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