Vanila Fudge Cake

A three-layered soft vanilla cake frosted with thick chocolate fudge buttercream!

My son turned 19 two weeks ago.

The last year he will be a teenager. A milestone in itself.

However, this year, his birthday fell during an unprecedented pandemic.

We were quarantined. At home. Just us three.

We still had a party. We still celebrated. He got to select his favorite dinner. And dessert.

And he even got wrapped gifts. Even though I had to be a bit resourceful!

My son has become an amazing young man. I love him with all my heart.

But, how cool is it to hang out with your parents on your 19th birthday? Pretty cool since that is the only thing you can do!

Yeah, not what he had originally planned. But we made the most of it.

He requested this cake. A white cake with chocolate frosting.

Three layers. And mind you, three full layers, not three skinny layers!

Refrigerated (he likes his cakes chilled).

Also on the dinner menu – he selected his favorites; BBQ filet mignon and homemade French fries (yes, they took me F O R E V E R to make!).

My son has good taste.

We did make some minor adjustments to his celebration. I did not get any balloons or other decorations.

We did not have any family or friends over. He did not have a big party (as planned).

But we played loud music. We talked loud. We laughed hard.

We ate and drank until our tummies burst.

And overall we made some great memories together, just the three of us.

Our family.

Every bit of the food we prepared turned out perfect. The steak was flavorful and juicy, the French fries were crisp and salty, and the cake was soft and sweet and the frosting was so decadent – of course it was my favorite part of the meal!

However, I did not get a photo of the whole cake that was blog worthy.

But that’s fine with me. We all have to be a bit more easy on ourselves, and not worry about being “perfect” — especially when we are trying to maintain our sainity through a pandemic.

Being quarantined now going on eight-weeks is a bit daunting and people living together can get a little testy. So we do everything in our power to stay positive and amicable. Yeah, sometimes that works and other times it does not!

And taking a photo of the untouched beautiful cake; before the candles are put on the top or the cake is cut, is pretty much a bloggers dream. But, instead of trying to get that perfect photo, I decided to focus on my son and his special day.

I did not even think about taking photos of this cake until the next day. I really did not want to add any more stress into an already crazy time.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Vanilla Fudge Cake

Servings: 10
Difficulty: easy
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By: Sheila | Sweet Baked Life

Ingredients for the Cake:

3-2/3 cup cake flour*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs + 2 egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups buttermilk*

Ingredients for the frosting:

1 cup butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions for the Cake:

Turn the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans – coat with cooking spray, line with parchment paper, then coat again. Set aside until ready to use.
To a large bowl add the flour, salt and baking soda and whisk until combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and mix on high-speed for about 3 minutes – until smooth. With the mixer is turned off, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula. With the mixer on high, add the eggs, additional whites, and the vanilla and beat for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl again, then with the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. While the mixer is still on low, slowly add the buttermilk and mix until combined and there are no lumps.
Equally pour the mixture to the three prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Use a toothpick inserted in the middle to determine if done. Transfer pans to cooling rack and let cool for about 30 minutes. Remove from the pans and place directly on the rack and let cook completely before frosting.

Instructions for the Frosting:

Into a medium bowl, sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder and set aside until ready to use.
In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter and beat on high-speed for about 5 minutes. Then, with the mixer on low, add the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder, vanilla extract and the heavy cream or milk. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 3 minutes until soft and creamy. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more heavy cream or milk, if the frosting is too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar until you get the consistency you want.

To frost and assemble the cake:

With the cake completely cool, put a bit of frosting on the top of a cake plate, then add the first cake layer and top with about 1/2-1 cup of the frosting and smooth with an offset spatula, repeat for the next two layers. Then using your offset spatula, frost the sides and smooth until you get the look you want.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting. This cake can be covered and kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (if it lasts that long!).

Yes, you can make your cake and eat it too. So, don’t stress out, whip up this yummy three-layered Vanilla Fudge Cake for your family or quarantined mates!

Sweetly,