Big time! I need to make cake for my daughter's birthday. This year, my younger daughter is going to invite 4 of her best friends in class for her birthday play date. She chose My Little Pony (her favorite toys/character) as party theme. I bought her My little pony party stuffs like candles, plates, napkins, goody bag toys and a big poster for her birthday photos session!!! And the theme of the cake will be My Little Pony too. I will make her a rainbow cake with a 2D My Little Pony "Rarity" as cake topper. It will be a fun cake to make! For the cupcakes, I ordered My Little Pony Premium Rice Paper topper from ebay. The cupcakes are prepared for Nicole's class celebration.
White Layer Cake
- 2 3/4 cups (380 g) cake flour
- 1 3/4 cups (380 g) sugar (I use 1 cup)
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (18 g) baking powder
- 1 1/8 tsp salt
- 7 ounces (200 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 large whites, room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (366 g) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
- 5 large egg whites
- 15 ounces (425 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-in pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour five 6" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Add the butter and beat until a crumbly mixture forms, just starting to come together.
- Add the egg whites one at a time, and beat to combine. Add the egg and beat to combine.
- Combine milk and vanilla extract together in a measuring cup. Add to the mixer in three additions, beating well after each addition.
- If you want to be precise, weigh the batter so you know how much to put in each pan.
- Pour one-fifth of the batter into one of the prepared pans. Add Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and blue food colours to the pans.
- Bake for about 24-28 minutes, rotating halfway. The cakes should be set and a skewer inserted in the center should come out with a few crumbs on it.
- Remove and place on wire racks. Run a knife around the edges for easier removal. Let cool for about 20 minutes and then invert pans to remove cakes. Let them finish cooling before decorating.
For the buttercream:
- Combine the sugar and egg whites in a medium metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water.
- Whisk the sugar mixture constantly over heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.
- Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may break.
- When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together.
- Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine.
- The buttercream is ready to be used. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface until you are ready to use it to prevent it from drying out.
To assemble the cake:
- Level off cake layers if necessary. Place one cake layer on a cake board or cake decorating stand.
- Spread some of the buttercream over the cake layer evenly. Place a second cake layer on top and spread some more buttercream over the cake layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers.
- Spread a crumb coat of buttercream over the top and sides of cake (see here for tips on doing a crumb coat). Refrigerate for about an hour to let the frosting set.
- Spread the rest of the buttercream over the top and sides of cake with an offset spatula.
