Sunday Sweets: Ruffle Cake

 I have been in love with light pink ruffle cakes for YEARS. I finally had a reason to make one for S & W's 1st birthday! I made 4 simple white 9" cakes for the base, but was underwhelmed with the recipe. The cake turned out dense, and slightly chewy. Next time I would try a different recipe, something light and fluffy. The buttercream frosting however, you guys, I could have eaten it with a spoon...okay, I DID eat it with a spoon.
What you'll need:

(This recipe makes enough for 2 round 9" cakes)
Cake-
-2 2/3 c. flour
-1 1/2 c. sugar
-1 TBSP plus 1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-4 egg whites (save your egg yolks for a yummy quiche recipe I'll post later this week)
-1 1/4c. milk
-1/2 c. applesauce
-1 tsp vanilla

(I tripled this frosting recipe)
Frosting-
- 12oz powdered sugar
- 6oz salted butter
-2 TBSP milk
-1 TBSP vanilla extract
-Natural food dye

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Butter and flour cake pans and set aside.
3. Mix all ingredients except 1/2 the milk and the egg whites until well incorporated.
4. Add in egg whites and the rest of the milk and beat until completely mixed.
5. Pour batter into pans and transfer to oven.
6. Bake for 27 min or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to completely cool before frosting.
FOR FROSTING-
8. Cream butter and sugar.
9. Add milk, vanilla and food dye to desired color.
10. After cakes have completely cooled frost a crumb coat and place in refrigerator for 30 min.
11. Take cake out and fill piping bag with petal tip with frosting.
12. Beginning at the bottom of the cake, wide part of the tip touching the cake start to pipe back and forth in a one inch section until you reach the top of the cake.
13. Continue all the way around the cake.
14. To finish the top, begin where one section of ruffle left off and zig zag the frosting towards the center of the cake, stopping once you reach the center.
14. Continue to join all the ruffles in this zigzag pattern to the center.

Here is the video tutorial I watched to learn how to frost the ruffles.




Enjoy!
xxSamantha