Old friends are the best friends. No one knows that better than my daughter, Elizabeth. At only 18 months old, her life changed forever when she found another little girl playing beneath the trees at Sumac Park. The girls approached each other, clasped hands and walked off together like they'd known each other forever. This was how Elizabeth met Zoe. Because of their fast friendship, I too made a friend whom I consider one of my closest, Zoe's mom Diane. She's one of the ladies I call my "sister friends," a group of women who came together in a mommy and me class and have shared each others triumphs, heartaches, milestones and celebrations over the past decade. Today is Zoe's 13th birthday, and we couldn't let the day pass without celebrating the smart, strong, kind and lovely young woman Zoe is. So Elizabeth made her hand painted watercolor card and a thoughtful present, and I baked her a cake. We're going to drop everything on their doorstep this afternoon and sing "happy birthday" on FaceTime when we get home.
Adorable, sweet and colorful, just like Zoe
As what I can make is limited by what's in my cupboards, I scanned my pantry and found I had an abundance of rainbow colored sprinkles. Those tiny bits of happiness gave me the idea for a confetti cake with my simple American buttercream frosting. Luckily, I had just enough confectioner's sugar to pull this off, because otherwise I would have had to do a meringue buttercream, which, while delicious, is far too precise and temperamental for my fragile heart these days.
Before I share the recipe, I must first share these images. The girls are both dancers and started dancing together before they turned three. Here's a couple shots of them together, doing what they love most.
Tiny Dancers in their first recital costume
Elizabeth & Zoe Dancing Through Life Together
Confetti Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Makes 3 layers or 24 cupcakes
Happy 13th Birthday Zoe!
Ingredients:
3 1/3 all purpose flour (unbleached if you have it)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup rainbow sprinkles
Method:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch round cake pans. Add parchment circles to the bottoms of pans if you have them for ease of removal - those sprinkles make the cake stick a bit (that's why this finished cake is only two layers - my third got stuck so it became a snack for my family.)
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in a medium bowl and set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, add cooled melted butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla and beat to combine. Alternate adding 1/3 the flour mixture with 1/3 the milk and mix to combine between additions. After all the milk and flour mixture are incorporated, add in sprinkles and mix just to combine.
Add 2 1/4 cups of batter to each pan and bang gently on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the cakes are light golden brown.
Cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then remove VERY GENTLY to a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting.
The frosting recipe is posted on the cupcake post, and makes enough to frost this entire cake and decorate it,
There's always a reason to celebrate, and even more reasons to enjoy cake with the ones you love. Happy Sunday.
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