Basic Cake, Basic Frosting, Rave Reviews?

Yellow cake always seemed so dull to me when I was growing up. It has come to be my go-to cake as it lends itself to many versions. It is even a good recipe for pineapple upside down cake, crumb-topped, cupcakes, chocolate chip cake, etc. What I also like about it is that you are almost assured of having the needed ingredients on hand. You can bake it early in the day and it will be cool and ready for frosting by dinner time. Makes a good base for sliced strawberries and whipped cream, too!

Basic Yellow Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Vegetable oil spray or line with parchment paper a 9x13 baking pan or two 8-inch round ones if you want a layer cake.

In a large bowl mix flour and sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter, milk, extracts, and nutmeg. Either by hand or with a mixer, beat to combine and smooth out the batter. Add the eggs and beat until they are well incorporated.

Spread batter into prepared pan(s). Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched..

Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. If you went with the sheet cake, finish the cooling in the pan and frost. If you are going for a layer cake presentation, remove from pans and cool completely before frosting.

Basic Frosting
1 stick softened butter
½ cup shortening
4-5 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk to form spreadable frosting.

Beat the butter and shortening together until light and fluffy. Add about four cups of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add milk in very small increments and continue beating until you have a fluffy and spreadable frosting. At this point, you can add food coloring if you want to be more festive.

Ideas . . .
I like to keep aside ½ cup of the finished frosting, add 2-3 tablespoons of toasted walnuts and use that for the filling. If you have walnut extract, you can add that, too. Frost the outside of the cake with the ‘plain’ frosting.

Keep aside 1/4 cup of the finished frosting. Divide into two small dishes and color each a different color. Once you finish frosting the cake with the basic frosting, you can take dabs of the colored frosting and swirl dabs of it all over the cake for a confetti look.