Spider-man Birthday Cake - Black & White Cake with Creamy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

If your birthday honoree can't decide whether he or she wants vanilla or chocolate, this cake is the perfect choice because it delivers both. For Kochu there really wasn't much confusion, chocolate would win hands down every time, but I wanted to do something different. I was bored of making plain chocolate cakes.

I knew I wanted a layered cake and in different flavors, but just wasn't decided on the flavors of the layers yet. I initially thought I'd go with a chocolate cake layer and a butter cake layer. But then I was worried that my butter cake layer would be too soft/moist to stand up for a layered cake. So I scrapped that idea. That was when I came across this beautiful black and white cake at Lemon Sugar. This is an awesome blog with so many beautiful cake and cupcake recipes that are to die for! I've already bookmarked quite a few of her recipes to try later. The frosting though I had to adapt a bit to my liking and measurements but it is pretty much still the same recipe.

Even though the WASC cake start with a plain vanilla cake mix it, ends up with a luscious yellow cake that is just so moist and yummy. And the chocolate cake, need I say more? It is chocolate after all!  And then came the frosting. Smooth, buttery, need I say more?? J

Put it all together, and what do you get? A wonderful combination of flavors and once again, another recipe that produces an elegant dessert that is fit for the fanciest of dinner parties. The cakes were light and fluffy, the fillings smooth and rich, all the flavors blending together into a harmonious whole. I was quite pleased with the cake: it is surprisingly light in texture but satisfyingly substantial - you can taste the richness of the chocolate, the delicate crumb of the cake, the weightless give of the fr

osting beneath your bite. This is really a cake where using good ingredients will make it shine.

Here's a couple of pictures of the cake. Again, not so great pictures, but you'll get the idea! 

 

I hope you’ll give this one a try.  If you're looking for a striking cake for a special occasion look no further, this is a must try recipe! J

Chocolate Cake

Recipe Source: Lemon Sugar 

Yield:  Two 9-inch layers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).  Prepare two round, 9-inch baking pans by coating them with cooking spray and a parchment round.   (Cut a 9 inch round circle of parchment, place in bottom of pan sprayed with cooking spray.)

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for two minutes.  Slowly stir in boiling water, and note that the batter will be very thin.  Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool on wire rack until completely cool.

White Almond Sour Cream Cake

Recipe Source: Lemon Sugar 
Yield:  Two 9-inch layers

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix (see notes)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white/granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 and 1/3 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup (8oz) sour cream
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).  Prepare two round, 9-inch baking pans by coating them with cooking spray and a parchment round.   (Cut a 9 inch round circle of parchment, place in bottom of pan sprayed with cooking spray.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.  With a hand mixer, beat ingredients for about two minutes or until batter becomes smooth and silky.  Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake for 30-37 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. (Mine usually takes 34 minutes.)

Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool on wire rack until completely cool.

Creamy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from: Lemon Sugar 
Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter at cool room temperature
• 6 cups icing sugar 
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of water

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and icing sugar on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until well-incorporated, about 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla, water, whipping cream and salt, and whip on med-high speed until fluffy and smooth--about 3 more minutes. If consistency is too thick, add more water 1 teaspoon at a time, then whip again for 30 seconds or so. If your frosting is too thin, you can add more icing sugar a few tablespoons at a time until you achieve desired consistency.

Assembling the cake

Trim any doming or top crust from cake layers using a very sharp serrated knife.

Place a small dollop of frosting in the center of a cake plate or 10″ round thin foil-covered cake board, and place the bottom cake layer on top, face-up.

Place ~1 cup of frosting on top of the cake layer, and spread evenly with a small offset palette knife. Gently place 2nd cake layer, face up, on top. Repeat until you come to your 4th layer, which you will place face down.

Put a generous scoop of frosting on top, spreading evenly with a small offset palette knife and working your way down the sides until you have a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake. Chill until set, about 30 minutes.

Remove from refrigerator and apply another "coat" of frosting.

Decorate cake as desired.  This is enough frosting to fill three layers and frost the remainder of the cake.  I do recommend a crumb-coat before your final coat of frosting.

Notes:

• I used AmeriGel colors to color the icing - Red Red and Royal Blue
• For the box cake mix I used Betty CrockerVanilla Cake Mix
• Store, covered in a cake dome, at room temperature for up to  3 days, or in refrigerator for up to 5 days. Best enjoyed day 1 or 2 at room temperature.