occupational therapy month

april is occupational therapy month. in order to celebrate [and bring a little OT education to the department], i whipped up a three layer cake. this time i used a recipe from bakerella claiming to yield the best yellow cake + butter cream she has ever tasted. i must admit, it was pretty darn good. here's what happened.

 love when a recipe calls for self-rising flour because i get to use my special little container.

 my beauty.

 batter before.

 ombre batter after.

 apparently the trick to good cake: mist with sugar-water.

 straight out of the refrigerator. 

 looking a little rustic secondary to a lack of icing. 

i doubled the batch and it still wasn't enough.

taste testing with a refreshing glass of lemonade.

the presentation for this cake includes a big bunch of spring flowers and framed factoids regarding the profession of occupational therapy. if i had to do it again, i wouldn't have dyed it pink. still good, but lesson learned. 

yellow cake

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

4 eggs at room temperature

3 cups self-rising flour

1 cup mild

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour eight inch baking pans. using a mixer, cream butter until fluffy. add sugar and continue to cream for about seven minutes. add eggs one at a time. beat well after each egg is added. add flour and mild (alternating to creamed mixture), beginning and ending with flour. add vanilla and butter flavoring until just mixed. divide batter equally into three cake pans. hold each layer about three inches above your counter and carefully drop pans flat onto counter several times to ensure release of any air bubbles. bake for 25-30 minutes. cool in pans for 5-10 minutes. remove and immediately wrap each later in plastic wrap to seal in moisture. cool completely on wire racks. assemble your cake.

to add moisture to the layers:

combine one cup sugar and two cups of water. bring to boil for approximately three minutes. let cool. pour into spray bottle and mist layers lightly.

butter cream icing

2 cups (4 sticks) butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar

1-3 teaspoons milk

using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth. add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together. add milk until you get the right texture. 

enjoy!