Buttermilk White Cake

Day 129

Think summertime. Think simple and elegant. Think of peaches and raspberries and blueberries because those fruits pair beautifully with this cake. Ice creams made from these fruits pair beautifully with it too.

My favorite combination is this cake, served with a scoop of (preferably home-churned) peach ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert. For whatever reason, buttermilk works wonders with peaches and berries.

My daughter Tate found this recipe on an incredible blog called *Add a Pinch, and added her own icing idea. She and her friend Marina made it together recently with stupendous results. It was shared and enjoyed within an embarrassingly short period of time.

Buttermilk White Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

½ cup vegetable shortening

3 cups granulated sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup whole milk, room temperature

½ cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray or coated well with shortening or butter and floured, taking care to remove all excess flour.

Cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Slowly add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour milks and vanilla into measuring cup and whisk together with a fork. Add to butter and shortening mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Gently stir all ingredients until well combined. Stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, making sure to have all ingredients mixed well.

Evenly distribute cake batter between cake pans and place pans into oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool slightly in cake pans for about 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Frost cake as desired.

Buttermilk frosting:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

32 oz. confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

8-10 tbs. buttermilk

Beat butter until fluffy and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at low speed until well blended. Add vanilla and buttermilk, a little bit (about a teaspoon) at a time, adding more until desired consistency is reached. For icing an entire cake, a thicker frosting is best.

*White cake recipe copied from this incredible blog link where you’ll find TONS of other amazing recipes: http://addapinch.com/the-best-white-cake-recipe/