French Vanilla Trifle Cake
Yesterday, I turned 29.
I am now in the last year of my twenties, and it feels odd. I’m not sure how old I feel exactly, but it isn’t one year shy of 30. But regardless of how I feel, this is where I’m at. My birthday usually passes without much celebration or fanfare and I’m fine with that. There is however, one celebratory act that since I learned to cook/bake, does happen every year without fail.
I bake myself a cake.
*Could* I just buy some cake from a bakery or a store? Sure. *Could* I ask a relative or friend to bake one for me? Of course.
But see, here’s the thing: nowhere I could buy it from and nobody I could ask (with the exception of my grandma) could bake me a better cake than the one that EYE would bake. I’m not even bragging. Those are just facts.
So, I do it myself. And I must say, I don’t disappoint.
These are some of the cakes I’ve made for my birthdays over the past few years on the blog: there’s this one. And this one. This one was *especially* good. And I still fantasize about this one.
I’m just good at birthday cakes. And this year was no exception.
The very first cake that I fell in love with as a kid was a plain old vanilla cake. When it’s done well, there’s just nothing like it in the world. I had a lot of options for this year, but ultimately I decided to just go with that: a really, really good grown up vanilla layer cake.
How do you guys think I did?
The cake itself is flavored with both vanilla AND almond extract. The almond may seem like a surprise addition, but trust me: that’s what’s going to give it that little extra ‘something’ that would make you swear it was made in a bakery and not your own kitchen.
To make the cake more ‘grown up’ and to cut down on the sweetness of the vanilla buttercream, I decided to include a tart fruit filling. I had a jar of ligonberry preserves from IKEA that I was itching to try and as ligonberries remind me of a very sweet cranberry, I thought they would pair very well with strawberries. I was right.
This cake was so good. It was a delicious birthday present to myself & I guarantee that it will make a delicious present to anyone you decide to make it for–yourself included.
*****************************************************************
French Vanilla Trifle Cake
Recipe Adapted from Southern Living
Ingredients
For Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoons almond extract
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
For Filling
- 1/2 cup ligonberry preserves (You can find them at IKEA. You can use strawberry or raspberry preserves as well.)
- 2 quarts fresh strawberries, diced
For Buttercream Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 48 oz. powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 5 tablespoons milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour four two 8 or 9 inch cake pans and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, and salt. Stir with a fork and set aside. In a small bowl combine the buttermilk with the vanilla extract and set aside.
Using the paddle attachment of a standing mixer (or a handheld one) cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients to the butter mixture with the wet ingredients. Start and end with the flour mixture, and make sure you use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
Divide evenly between the two cake pans on the middle rack of the oven for 32 to 36 minutes. (Cake is done at an inner temp of 190-195 degrees Fahrenheit). Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and to wire rack and cool completely (about 1 hour).
For Buttercream Frosting: Beat together the butter, vanilla and salt until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at a low speed until blended and smooth after each addition until it reaches your desired consistency.
To assemble: Level the tops of each cake. Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper to keep the platter clean while you assemble the cake. Place one cake layer on the platter. Pipe a border of frosting around the edges of the cake. Spread the layer with about 2/3 cup of buttercream. Top with first the sliced strawberries, then spread the preserves on top of that with the spatula. Top with the remaining cake layer. Spread entire cake with just enough frosting over the top and sides to make a crumb coat. (It should be thin). Refrigerate cake for one hour until the crumb coat is firm. Finish spreading the remainder of the frosting on the cake. Refrigerate for an additional hour, just to let buttercream firm up. Remove the parchment strips from the platter before serving.
Linking to this week’s Fiesta Friday #243, co-hosted this week by Catherine @ Kunstkitchen’s Blog and Becky @ Bubbly Bee.
Oh my, that looks like Heaven!
It tasted something like that, for sure. Thank you 🙂
Beautiful cake.
Thank you!
Looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you Stephy, it was an awesome birthday cake 🙂
Happy birthday Jess! You’re still a baby… I say this only because I’m turning 35 this year 😉 I always make my birthday cake too! Yours looks delicious, I must say. As do the ones from years past! Hope you had a great time celebrating!
The crazy thing is, I do still kinda feel like I’m young(er) than I am. It blows my mind that this time next year, I’ll be thirty. I’m not upset about aging at all, it just feels a little surreal. Thank you Heather (and 35 is *definitely* still young) 😀
I love that you bake yourself a birthday cake — I think I may start that tradition for myself!
It’s a great tradition–I highly recommend it 😉
Happy Birthday! Age really is just a number. BTW…that cake!!!! YUM!
Absolutely, I’m not worried about aging. I’m only as old as I feel lol Thank you!
Beautiful cake Jess! Love the jammy fruit filling in the center, and happy birthday. You don’t look a day over twenty!
Aww, thank you! It’s been a while since twenty and I saw each other, but it’s nice to know it’s a little more difficult to tell 😉
This cake looks amazing and it sounds delicious! I will be saving this for a future use!!
Thank you Abbey, I hope that you enjoy it 🙂
Yummy!!!
Thank you 🙂
Omg my mouth is waterig
Thanks sis 😉
Watering*
Please help me…are there 4 cake pans? If so, are they 8” or 9”? Perhaps there are only 2 cake pans (because it looks like 2 layers in the picture). If so, 8” or 9” diameter pans? (See the directions re greasing the pans.)
Hi Deb–it’s two 8 or 9 inch cake pans (either one will work). Thanks for pointing this out, I’ve clarified it in the recipe.