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Easy Birthday Cake From Scratch

Easy Birthday Cake From Scratch

This Easy Birthday Cake From Scratch is a delightful recipe perfect for celebrations, featuring a moist cake and rich buttercream icing.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Cooling Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 slices
Calories 414 kcal

Equipment

  • electric mixer
  • 9-inch Cake Pans
  • large bowl
  • medium-sized bowl

Ingredients
  

Cake Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 3 whole eggs

Buttercream Icing Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons butter flavoring can use clear vanilla extract instead
  • 6 cups confectioner's sugar
  • 4-8 tablespoons milk

Instructions
 

Birthday Cake Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 and spray two 9-inch cake pans liberally with cooking spray, or grease and flour. (Can also use a 9x13-inch pan or line 24 muffin tins with paper liners for cupcakes).
  • Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl and cream together with an electric mixer.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt with a spoon. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, and vanilla until well combined.
  • Add half of the wet mixture and the flour mixture to the creamed butter and mix until well combined. Add the remaining and continue mixing until fully blended and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  • If you want to add sprinkles, gently stir them using a spoon, once the cake batter is fully blended.
  • Divide the cake mix evenly among the two cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until lightly browned and center springs back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Buttercream Icing Instructions

  • In a large bowl, cream the butter and about 1 cup of confectioner's sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the butter flavoring, half of the milk, and the remaining sugar, and beat again until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides and adding a little extra milk if needed.
  • Ice the cooled cake and enjoy!

Notes

This is a double recipe of icing for a two-layer cake. If you want less, you can easily half it. A generous dousing of cooking spray or greasing with shortening and flour works well for pans to prevent sticking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 414kcal
Keyword Birthday Cake Recipe, Buttercream Icing, Cake from Scratch, Easy Birthday Cake, homemade cake, Layer Cake
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