a whisk and a spoon

Confetti Layer Cake and a BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Sometimes I just want a piece of birthday cake…even if it’s no one’s birthday.  Know how that is?  I do feel I’m embarrassingly late to the imaginary party with this confetti cake.  I don’t even know if I’ve ever had the Pillsbury version.  And it seems everyone’s made a homemade one but me (till now).  What I thought was some magical secret to the colored bursts of confetti is really just jimmies stirred into cake batter.  A cute book called Sprinkles!, which helps turn all things sparkly or rainbow-colored, showed me that.  My own sprinkles collection borders on the absurd.  Apparently I really needed this book– I’m filing it in the “self-help” section of my bookshelf.

Back to the cake!  The base here is a delicate white cake flavored with almond extract, although it would be also great flavored with lemon, so I included that as an option.  The sprinkles folded into the batter explode in the in oven (not in a dangerous way, I promise!) into little pops of color scattered throughout each slice.  I think any frosting you like with white cake would work well here, so use your favorite.  I made an American-style powdered sugar buttercream with a blob of cream cheese added in to temper the sweetness just a bit.  The sides of the cake are exposed to show off the fun inside, and don’t forget the extra sprinkles on top!

The kind folks at Quirk Books sent me a copy of Sprinkles!,  and now I want to jazz up your baking by sending a copy to one of you.  Just leave me a comment (one per person, please) on this post before 4:00 pm EST on Tuesday, March 18 and I’ll randomly choose a winner from the list.  Be sure your e-mail address is correct so I can contact you if you’re chosen.

***Giveaway Winner Update: I used random.org to generate a random comment number to find the winner. It selected comment 24, so congratulations to Barb T. I’ll be in touch and sending your book soon!***

Confetti Layer Cake– makes a 9-inch triple layer cake
adapted from Sprinkles! by Jackie Alpers

Steph’s Note:  Obviously I didn’t bake my cake in 9-inch rounds.  I scaled it back to a third and baked it as a quarter-sheet (adjusting baking time accordingly), which I then cut into three strips and frosted. 

1 1/2 cups milk
9 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/3 cup applesauce or Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract or lemon extract
4 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted, plus extra for flouring pans
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup rainbow jimmies, plus extra for decoration

4 cups (approximately) your favorite buttercream or cream cheese frosting

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment circles, grease, then dust with flour.

-In a medium bowl, stir milk, egg whites, applesauce or yogurt and extracts. Into another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

-Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add flour and milk mixtures alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Fold in the 1/2 cup sprinkles.

-Divide batter among pans. Bake until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

-Cool cakes in pans set on wire racks for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of each pan, then invert cakes onto a cutting board. With a serrated knife, carefully cut off the tops and “crusts,” exposing the confetti sprinkles (this is optional).

-Place first layer on a plate. Spread 3/4 cup frosting evenly over top. Repeat with second and third layers, leaving the sides exposed. Decorate the perimeter of the top with the remaining jimmies. Serve, or refrigerate up to 3 days.