yellow cake with cocoa buttercream frosting

this is absolutely the best yellow cake you will ever taste. of course, you can modify the frosting that you use, but, like i said, i love any form of chocolate, so i went with a cocoa buttercream frosting.

this recipe is actually not my own, it is from the wonderful blog "bakerella" (bakerella.blogspot.com). i have just changed a few things.

1 cup butter (room temperature)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 cups self-rising flour
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. grease 3 8-inch cake pans.

cream butter and sugar for 7 minutes.

add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg is added.


add flour and milk (alternating to creamed mixture), beginning and ending with flour.


add vanilla.


divide batter equally into three cake pans. hold each pan about 3 inches above the counter and carefully drop it, several times, to eliminate any air bubbles.

bake for 25-30 minutes.



let the cake layers cool. during this process, make your frosting.

1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb. powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1-3 teaspoons milk

mix butter and vanilla until smooth. sift powdered sugar and cocoa over this mixture and blend until smooth. add milk to get the consistency you desire for your own frosting.

a good trick that the "bakerella" blog suggests is to spray the cake layers with sugar water (2 cups water, 1 cup sugar) from a spray bottle to keep them moist before assembling.

frost the first layer, stack the second, frost it as well, and keep frosting until all layers are stacked and frosted!



pinback- boo *mellow rock. i love to fall asleep to this song. sort of depressing, but i like those ones. the band is from san diego, so obviously they're great :)
kleerup ft. lykke li- until we bleed *i love this remix of lykke li's song, and her voice sounds so good with the house/electro beats. also a tad depressing, but in a good way.
ratatat- swisha *a slower, more soothing side of ratatat. love it.
the bravery- the ocean slower alternative. love how it is sort of an incalzando (when compared to the rest of the song's beat) at the end
kate walsh- june bug *slow, sad. SUCH a beautiful voice, and she plays the guitar. great lyrics as well.

angel food cake trifle

this is a really fresh dessert, perfect for a summer night! if you don't like chocolate, you can even leave the ganache out, but it is delicious when included!

angel food cake:

i got this recipe from a great baking book: "The Ultimate Book of Baking" by Martha Day


1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 10-11 eggs)
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

preheat oven to 325 degrees.

sift the flour before measuring, then sift it 4 times with 1/2 cup of sugar. transfer to a bowl.

with electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. sift over the cream of tartar and salt and continue to beat until they hold soft peaks when the beaters are lifted.



add the remaining sugar in 3 batches, beating well after each addition; stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and fold in with a large metal spoon after each addition.

transfer to an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake until delicately browned on top, about 1 hour.


let the cake cool, and then tear it up into big chunks and set those aside in a bowl.

now, make the chocolate ganache:

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

put the chocolate in a double boiler pot, and stir it until it is mostly melted. then, slowly add the cream until the mixture is a smooth chocolate sauce.

also, make the whipped cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

with a beater, beat the cream until thick. add the sugar and vanilla, and beat until the mixture forms soft peaks.

in a trifle pot, put one layer of the angel food cake chunks on the bottom. on top, put a layer of whipped cream. then put a layer of whatever fruit you want. i like to put strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. then drizzle a layer of the ganache. repeat with as many layers as you like, ending with the whipped cream, fruit, and ganache layer on top.
cool, so that the ganache hardens, and enjoy!


la roux- bulletproof
friendly fires- paris
placebo- bionic
the decemberists- los angeles, i'm yours
the knife- we share our mother's health