Discover Cooking

This month is filled with family birthday parties,so I decided it’s about time to start making those cakes from scratch. My mother and grandmother never bought a store-bought cake and box mixes were out of the question as well. Now it’s my turn to give homemade cakes and frostings a try.

I started by looking for a few different birthday cake recipes and have been trying them out on my family. I’ve discovered a couple of great basic recipes which combined with various toppings and frostings should cover most cake occasions.

For my daughter’s cake this year we are going with a chocolate cake and a vanilla frosting. I think vanilla frosting is just one of those simple things anyone can put together. It only takes a few minutes to put together and making a cake from scratch doesn’t take any more time than using a box mix.

Of course it is perfect for frosting your favorite cake, but also as a topping for muffins, spice cakes or as a dip for fruit. I’ve even been known to spread some on sugar cookies and then letting the kids decorate these sweet treats with various sprinkles. Great fun for a rainy afternoon.

My favorite cake in the world is a simple two layer yellow cake, frosted with a simple vanilla frosting and then topped with various fresh berries. It’s simply divine and looks absolutely stunning. Of course it would also be great with some cream cheese frosting or even a chocolate frosting and then topped with strawberries.

If you’ve never made cake from scratch, or whipped up your own frosting for that matter, give it a try. It’s much easier than you think and the end result tastes so much better than anything you could get from the store. I know my family has appreciated that I’ve taken the plunge into making cakes from scratch.