As you may have guessed, I love birthdays. Not just mine, but pretty much any birthday I can be part of. I especially love those celebrated by my family and friends, and now that we're into spring nearing summer, it's a birthday extravaganza.
Between my extended family, it seems there's a birthday every week, and that's one way to guarantee there will be no shortage of birthday cake (in case you're concerned about my lack of cake). The kick off was on April 25th, when our little (but not so little) Reese turned 5.
You might remember this colourful post from last year, when she turned 4—I feel as though I just made that cake, and yet it was a year ago. As a mom, that both amazes and saddens me, but of course it's always a super happy occasion, and making cake for my girls is one most fulfilling things possible.
This year we threw her a Baking Party, which was something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I made her a cake just like this pink party cake—it was the perfect balance of girly, fancy, and delicious (and shh, don't tell the girls, but this is one of the easiest and quickest cakes to make).
The party itself was, as you can imagine, so much fun and complete chaos! The girls wore handmade chef's hats (complete with pink satin lining—thank you Auntie Mary!), adorned with cupcake liner flowers (which the girls made when they arrived) and their names added by them in colourful letter stickers.
Wearing their favourite aprons, we whipped up chocolate sprinkled party spoons, decorated cupcakes, made strawberry jam and more. They each took home a pink-twine wrapped bakery box filled with their own creations as well as a "slice" of goodie box cake filled with loot bag treats, designed by the talented Linnette of PaperGlitter.
Planning, preparing for and playing at this party made my inner 5-year old super-duper happy. I was determined to engage, partake and enjoy every minute first hand this year, which I was able to do, but I wasn't able to take photos as well, which does break my heart a bit. Looking back I would have designated someone to take photos or even hire a photographer, because there were just too many adorable, hilarious, messy, crazy moments. Most importantly, though, is that the we made the memories and nothing can take that away.
The recipe itself for this cake is really just a very slightly adapted version of some of the other vanilla cakes I've posted (like this one, for example) but enough for 4 layers, paired with one of my best-loved sweeter frosting: a quick and easy (but super creamy and delightful) Whipped Vanilla Frosting that, as a result of whipping the butter and the blended frosting, tastes like creamy ice cream, and there is no sugary residue or chalky texture as with some sweet frosting.
With an all-butter base and the addition of pure vanilla (and often vanilla bean), there's an authenticity to it, even with all of that icing sugar. It also has a glide factor that makes it wonderful when applying it to the cake. I use this recipe anytime I need a fast fix or when baking for those attached to bakery frosting memories from childhood (although, isn't that all of us?).
The reason I've put it together again for this post (aside from the slight adaptations of the cake), is because I've never posted it for a full 4-layer version of the cake, which is a simple way to make the cake party-worthy, along with some, again, quick and easy decorating I do when I can't spend oodles of time on a cake. Truth is, sometimes even if I have the time, I still prefer cakes like these, and cakes that trigger all of my childhood memories. 
If you knew Reese, you'd know that, like most 5-year-old little girls, she's devoted to pink. And cake. And anything involving tutus and twirls, so the simple addition of a few retro ballerinas and sprinkles really fancies it up. In the past, I've done cakes for the girls that have taken me a week to do, but honestly, not only could I simply not make that happen this time with all of the party prep, but it wasn't necessary. You know I love that kind of thing, so it's not to say I won't make more of those for her down the road, but this cake was enough to make all the girls giddy (even the moms!).
The best part about this kind of moist, buttery white cake is that it pairs nicely with this type of sweeter party frosting, as I like to call it, as well my all-time favourite, Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I took the super-simple approach of filling and frosting the cake with the same thing, but I've also filled this cake with strawberries and whipped cream, lemon curd, homemade jam, and more. Just remember that for best results with these cake layers, you really need to weigh your ingredients. It really is the only way to guarantee cake success with this recipe—I promise! ♥
Beautiful baker birthday girl, Reese.
