Cookie Dough Sunshine Cake

My baby turned 1!


Has it been a year already? It amazes me how fast time really does fly.


It seems when I was younger time went by at a snails pace. 
School would never end. Christmas would never get here. I couldn't wait to be on my own. 


Now I have had that chance to be on my own (overrated), blessed that I'm happily married. I'm also pushing 40, yeah I totally don't look it right? 
I have three boys, with one starting school in the fall and I barely remember ever going to school myself.
Sometimes I wake up and wonder who that middle aged woman is in the mirror.
Oh, right, it's me. 


Enough about me, let's talk about my insanely adorable one year old and his cake.

Whenever I make a cake for the family I try to experiment with new recipes.
This time I tried a new white cake recipe. I used whole eggs so it's really a yellow cake.

Everyone in this house loves cookie dough, so I made cookie dough filling and brown sugar frosting.


Before I share the recipe you must amuse me and admire my cake.
He is truly my ray of sunshine. He is a happy little baby so I immediately thought of a "You are my sunshine" theme. I searched the web.. Pinterest.. etc. for ideas and they were almost all for little girls. This wouldn't do, so I one of my cakey friends on FB advised to look at  birthday invitations.
Best advice! If you ever need some awesome inspiration just go look at birthday invitations for your theme.  All that to say, that's where I found the idea for my sun.

Next the side view...

Thanks so much for amusing me, let's talk cake.

Yummy Yellow Cake

Adapted from Allrecipes

2 cups white sugar
  3 eggs 1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk
  1 cup boiling water

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.

Holding a small bowl over your creamed mixture, combine the buttermilk and baking soda together and beat. You hold it over the bowl because it will foam and may foam over the bowl. The kiddos like watching this step.

Pour that mixture immediately into the creamed mixture

Sift dry ingredients, and add to creamed mixture.
Add boiling water, and mix well.
Pour into a greased or lined pans. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately  25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Eggless Cookie Dough

adapted from Joy of Baking

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
waterIn a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the flour, salt, vanilla and chocolate chips. Add water one tablespoon at a time (stirring between each) until the dough reaches cookie dough consistency.

Cookie Dough Filling

1-3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
 Eggless cookie dough (recipe above)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, salt, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Add milk and continue mixing until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary. With the mixer running, slowly add remaining 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, mix until well combined.
 At this point you can mix in the eggless cookie dough. Mix in enough cookie dough to suit your taste. 
If there is any cookie dough left, just eat it, I won't judge you.

Cookie Dough Frosting

from TidyMom

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

Beat butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment on high speed until creamy and fluffy.
Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
Beat in the flour and salt.
Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.

Just an fyi, we put the leftovers in the fridge and it tasted even better then next day when it was cold.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little sunshine.

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

Share

Link Parties