In this household, blog birthdays are just as important as human (and feline) birthdays, if not moreso. I mean, I’ve never really thrown myself a birthday party, and yet I had no qualms about celebrating the blog’s 5th anniversary with a lime green dessert table. It’s just how it is around here.
Technically I’m a few days late here (February 15th being the actual date of the first published post) but I couldn’t let the 9 year milestone go unacknowledged…
Because 9 years is a BFD. A big frosted deal.
It’s crazy to imagine it’s actually been nine years. I can’t even wrap my brain around it.
Cake, on the other hand, that’s a no-brainer.
Last year I celebrated with a reader survey. Which, if you think about it, really isn’t very exciting. It’s like celebrating your wedding anniversary at the DMV.
Sorry about that.
This year, it’s all about the cake.
Because a birthday just isn’t a birthday without cake, that’s a fact.
(That said, I may actually do another reader survey here in the coming weeks, since your feedback was so valuable, but a survey is no way to celebrate such a milestone day.)
To celebrate 9 years, I made a giant number 9 out of cake. I think this same idea would be perfect for a kid’s birthday, at least until they hit age 10, whereupon you’d need to make two giant numbers instead of just one.
I used my favorite funfetti cake recipe, which I’ll love until the day I die. It’s perfectly moist, with a slight tang from the buttermilk to offset the rich butter and fragrant vanilla. And sprinkles. You can’t go wrong with colorful sprinkles.
I topped it this time with a fluffy chocolate buttercream, just to show its versatility. Vanilla cake doesn’t have to be limited to just vanilla buttercream.
How I did it:
I baked the cake in a quarter sheet pan. Once it had baked and fully cooled, I cut the cake in half and stacked the two layers on top of each other with frosting in between. Then I printed out a “9” template and laid that on top of the cake.
Using a serrated knife, I cut around the template. For the circular parts of the number, it’s easiest to cut off triangles of gradually decreasing sizes, until you end up with a rounded shape. It’s easier that way than trying to saw your way around a semi-circle.
Yes, the scraps look like sandwiches. And yes, you should eat them.
For the center hole, I used a round cookie cutter which was deep enough to cut out the top layer. Then I used a smaller knife to carefully cut out the lower layer (it won’t be quite as crisp but that’s ok because no one will ever see it). Use a spoon if you need to to fish out the cakehole (more snacks for you).
Once the cake was trimmed to my satisfaction, the cake then got a thin crumb coat all over, taking care to make the corners as level and crisp as possible. Once chilled, the frosting hardens and makes the final layer of frosting much neater and easier.
I’d never done a carved cake like this, so I was quite pleased with how it turned out, and Taylor was even more pleased with how it tasted. I think he gobbled up all the scraps before I was even done frosting the darn thing.
Thanks for celebrating this special day with me. Because really, it wouldn’t be a celebration at all without you. With out you I’d just be some crazy girl taking pictures of her food (ok, so even with you I’m still that crazy girl, but it seems more reasonable when there’s someone on the other end of it).
What will the 10th year have in store? I foresee big things, exciting things, delicious things… and a whole lot more cake.
Enjoy!
This recipe will fill one quarter sheet pan or three 6-inch round pans. For a half sheet pan or an 8-inch layer cake, double the recipe.
Let us know what you think!
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