My Nephew's 14th Birthday Cake!

Yesterday was my nephew's 14th birthday! I remember his birth day as if it just happened. Rushing to the hospital to keep my little niece company in he waiting room as she worried about her mommy. We didn't have long to wait for her baby brother's arrival. We were all so excited to meet Baby Davis! The baby is long gone and in his place is a quiet and thoughtful young man. I've made a few of his birthday cakes and this year was no different. Davis asked for a plain vanilla cake and I found a great recipe on the blog - The Cilanthropist, which she found on Food That Really Schmecks! I doubled the recipe found below.

My sister gave me the idea for the sports theme. I decided to represent all the sports he plays, soccer, basketball, baseball and golf. I baked 5 pieces of cake and 2 pieces out of Rice Krispies. I covered the cake with buttercream and with tinted fondant. For the lettering, I used Wilton sugar sheet lettering, they were super simple to use! I also used food markers for the detailing. Lastly, I used buttercream and mini dowels to assemble the cake. This is not a fast process. I always bake my cakes the day before decorating so they are completely cooled. The decorating took about 4 hours. It was all worth the time to see my nephew's smile!

Happy Birthday, Davis!

Snow White Vanilla Cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups ice water
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
4 egg whites, beaten until they hold stiff peaks (set aside while you make the batter)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare cake pans by spraying with non-stick spray or greasing the pans; then place parchment round in the bottom of the pan and spray or grease that as well.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. To make the cake batter, add the flour mixture and the ice water to the creamed butter, alternating between wet and dry ingredients and beating after each addition After everything is well mixed, add the vanilla and almond extracts, mix again to incorporate, and then fold in the beaten egg whites until the batter is smooth. Divide evenly between the prepared pans, smooth the top of the batter, and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely on cooling racks, then remove from the baking pans and discard the parchment. Cakes can be prepared ahead of time - kept well-wrapped they can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for 1 week.