vanilla butter cake with cocoa frosting

I have to say I’m one of those people that spring clean in January. Something about the New Year makes me want to purge the excess clutter. Watching “hoarders” makes me want to do that, too. Combine the two; and I’m filling up Glad bags all day long. Well… not really all day long. From 8:45-11:15am. Because it’s really hard to purge your kids’ room while they’re there. I’m sure a lot of y’all know what I mean…

So, last week I purged, organized, and got ill. Ugh. That’s why I was gone for a lil’ bit. No worries, I’m back in full force now. See… I got some new cookbooks for Christmas, and you know what that means- new stuff to make! Yippee!

That’s why there’s cake…

Not that this recipe came from a new cookbook. It actually is a recipe I morphed from a cookbook that came with a little children’s bake ware set.

I have been promising my youngest that she can make her first cake. She’s been asking since December- and “soon” finally came. Anyway, I didn’t want a big ol’ cake in the house, mainly because I didn’t have any room in my fridge. (I purged my stuff, not my food)

So we made a tiny 6″ cake. It’s perfect for two people to nibble on after dinner for a few days.

Her and I nibbled on it since Dad still had some rum balls.

She got to use her princess sprinkles, too. Tons of them.

I think my favorite part was the cocoa frosting. Mmmm, it was light, fluffy and buttery…with a hint of cocoa. Like the middle of a Three Musketeers.

I’ll admit, I did the base coat of frosting- and gave her the rest to pile on. And, there’s leftovers. I’m thinking Whoppie Pies.

vanilla butter cake with cocoa frosting

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup milk
For the frosting:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
dash of salt
4 tablespoons cream
small amount of milk as needed for thinning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350, grease a 6″ cake pan
For the cake:
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt- set aside
Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.
Alternate adding the flour mixture to the butter with the milk. (add some flour mixture, mix well, add milk, mix well…etc..)
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 17-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
For the frosting:
Mix the butter, sugar, salt, cream and cocoa powder on medium speed until fluffy, adding more milk as needed for proper texture.