Homemade Yellow Cake "Mix" and Fudge Frosting

This year, my husband's birthday fell on a day he was out of town.  Wanting to surprise him when he came home, Tommy and I baked a cake for him.  And by Tommy baking a cake with me, I mean he helped put on the sprinkles.  A dedicated sous-chef, that boy!

I knew I wanted to make the cake from scratch in order for it to be cheaper and chemical-free.  So, to the internet I went.  I found this recipe on Pinterest....where else? The original recipe called for powdered milk, but I didn't have any, so I used powdered buttermilk.  Turns out it was a happy accident because my hubby said this tasted just like his grandma's "Nana Cake".  It actually brought tears to his eyes.  (In a good way...I hope)

Here's what you'll need to make a mix:

1 1/2C Sugar
2C Flour
1T Baking Powder
1/2C Buttermilk Powder or Powdered Milk

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a gallon zip-top bag.  This will keep in the pantry for 6 months.  I put mine in the freezer, so I'm assuming it will last a good year.  I jotted down the rest of the ingredients and instructions on the bag.

To make the actual cake once you're ready, simply empty the mix into a bowl and add 1 stick of softened butter, 3/4C water, 1t vanilla and 3 eggs. (In case you couldn't read that on the bag above)

Mix on medium for two minutes. BTW, if you use buttermilk powder and you taste the batter, it will not taste very good like the fake, store-bought stuff with tons of additives does.  Don't worry, the end result is yummy.

Pour into a buttered and floured pan and bake at 350 for about 30 min.  I know it says 35-40 on the bag above, but I found it to be done in 30.  The recipe said to not over-bake or it will be dry.

While that's a-bakin', you can prepare the fudge frosting, also found through Pinterest.  You will need:

1 Stick room-temp butter
1/2C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
5C Powdered Sugar
1t Vanilla Extract
1/3C+ Boiling Water

  Dump the cocoa and powdered sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.

Add in your boiling water, extract and butter.

Mix well.  You may need to add some more water if your icing is too thick.

Mine was super thick and needed more water, but I (stupidly) thought mine would melt onto the hot cake when I plopped it on.  It didn't.  I thought I was being resourceful (some might say lazy), thinking it would keep some moisture in the cake since Daddy didn't come home until the next day.  Live and learn, lady!

Even after spreading it around, it was super thick, like fudge.  I guess that's why they call it fudge frosting!!!  It's not the prettiest thing in the world if you leave it thick, lol!  Good thing my husband loves a good, thick slab o' frosting.  Seriously, this was about 3/4" thick!!!  Too much for my taste.

Afterward, let your child lick the spatula, instructing him to make a cute/happy face while doing so.  End up with this drooling goon face instead.  Good thing his momma thinks he's cute!  With his hoot-owl hair, puppy dawg eyes and Sponge-Bob teeth!  I love him, hee hee hee!

Decorate as desired.  Or, in our case, spell out Happy B-Day Dad in jimmies and sprinkle with colored sugar, lol!  As you can see, my husband is a large man, but I juuuusssst noticed how HUGE his hands are!!!

My husband was soooooo happy with this cake!  He said it reminded him of the cake his Nana used to make just for him on his birthday.  I'm happy I could bring back that memory for him and that he truly enjoyed it.  It cost next to nothing to make and took just minutes to throw together.   It took a lot less effort than dragging my butt to the store and didn't have all the creepy chemicals like the boxed ones do.  That makes me happy!  Sheesh, after all of that, I forgot to take a picture of a slice!

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