marbled funfetti cake with bourbon vanilla buttercream + birthday cake ice cream
Thrifty or excessive? Who cares. Have some cake. Just a warning, though – there’s a shit ton of pictures here. Enjoy the new art installation on VE.
We observed J’s birthday on Saturday. The weather was crummy, a blob of rain like an atmospheric sneeze hovering over central Florida and inhibiting any outdoor activities in which we might engage. So we celebrated quietly, starting with buckwheat waffles for breakfast and sorting through a small yet oddly frustrating puzzle as I milled around the kitchen making preparations for our big dinner. J isn’t picky about birthdays and I find he gets quite embarrassed when fussed over too hard, though I think he deserves a big fuss since he’s him, and I love him so.
I baked this swirly beast of a cake a couple days before to make sure I didn’t get overeager and frost it too quickly, thus destroying its edibility. Thankfully, my impatience didn’t destroy the day. Just look at those swirls! J loves birthday cake ice cream and his parents usually get him an ice cream cake from Publix, but since COVID took away his parental visitation rights, I wanted to recreate the tradition in my own Kellie way. Cue birthday cake, with ice cream infused with scraps from the layers. Brilliant!
And, of course, bourbon in the frosting. We like bourbon over here. Have you seen these Salted Bourbon Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies?
The most annoying part of baking cake is the patience involved. I, Kellie, a Capricorn from head to toe, have 0 of that virtue, particularly if I’m in a self proclaimed rush and my brain tells me I HAVE NO TIME TO WAIT. Whenever cakes are in play, however, I make sure to plan ahead and bake at least a day before I need it to prevent any anxiety about the cake process overlapping other stuff I need or want to get done. I recommend you try this stage-based approach, too, if you’re overwhelmed by time.
Make this like you would any layer cake. Lots of butter, sugar, creamed very well to make the fluffiest crumb possible. Lots of batter. Funfetti cakes require plenty of vanilla extract to bring forth that traditional buttery, rich flavor. Don’t skimp here. The cocoa-water blend looks a bit stupid when you form the layers, but I promise the liquidiness vanishes once the oven heat evaporates the water and turns the cake into a mosaic of zebra-like ribbon art.
After baking, you must wait. Don’t turn the cakes out of the pan too quickly, like I almost did. Give them time to cool their jets and quit their steamin’ tempers. The cakes will release much more effectively from the pans and remain cohesive slabs rather than bits you have to scrape back together with buttercream to create the illusion of a complete piece. Some might fall off anyway, though, if your pan is clingy. Don’t sweat it. Just scrape them back together with buttercream, like I said.
Chances are, you will have excess cake from leveling the tops. You can choose to just nibble on it, but you’ll REALLY enjoy it in ice cream form. No churn recipes, like my Vanilla Fudge ice cream, are stupid easy and the base is pretty much the same for any combination you want to input. Heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and then of course chunks of birthday cake and some more sprinkles for fun. This can be made whenever you please, really. The only caveat here is whipping the heavy cream enough to form soft peaks. Too stiff, and you have whip. Too soft, and you just have slightly thicker cream. 4-5 minutes on high speed is pretty foolproof in my experience.
We ended J’s birthday with a big dinner featuring some Italian music, no knead rosemary bread – I seem to be the Chairwoman of No here, what with “no churn” and “no knead” and, actually, “no boil” baked ziti as the main – and a crisp, light salad to be featured on VE sometime soon. And second helpings of cake, because on birthdays, food rules don’t matter whatsoever.
Any special birthdays coming up for you guys? Better yet, what’s your favorite cake flavor of all time? Maybe it’ll pop up in some form on VE one day!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you’ve made!
More cake? Yes, please!
Swirled Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake with Gingered Streusel
Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Cake with Fudgy Buttercream
Peanut Butter Milk n’ Cookies Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup funfetti sprinkles
bourbon vanilla buttercream
- 3 sticks butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- milk, to thin, as needed
birthday cake ice cream
- 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 cups baked cake pieces
- 1/4 cup funfetti sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously grease three 6-inch cake pans.
- In the bowl and with a stand or hand mixer, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until whipped and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Whip in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In three batches, alternate mixing the milk and the flour mixture into the other wet ingredients until a thick, rich batter forms. Fold in the funfetti sprinkles.
- Whisk cocoa powder into hot water. Add a heaping spoonful at a time of the cake batter and the chocolate into each cake pan (one spoonful cake batter per pan, then one spoonful of chocolate). Repeat until all components are used up. Swirl the batter to create ribbons of chocolate. It is okay if the cocoa seems to overwhelm the cake batter and look a little watery. The liquid will boil out and create some neat patterns!
- Bake cakes for 40-50 minutes until centers set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans until room temperature to the touch, about 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn onto a wire rack. Cool completely, at least 20-30 minutes more. If the tops domed, carefully level with a serrated knife. Reserve the scraps.
- When the cakes are ready to decorate, make the buttercream. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and bourbon until airy and spreadable. If needed, add 1 tbsp of milk at a time to thin the buttercream. It should be fluffy and easily smeared with a knife.
- Decorate the cake! Set one layer onto a plate or cake stand. Frost the top only with 1/4ish inch thick layer of buttercream. Set a second layer atop and frost, then finish with the third layer. Frost cake with a thin layer of buttercream and set in the fridge for 15 minutes to create a "crumb layer." This makes decorating the rest much easier.
- Use the remainder of the buttercream to cover the cake. Sprinkle with additional funfetti sprinkles. Store, covered tightly, at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for up to a week.
no churn birthday cake ice cream
- With a stand or hand mixer on high speed, beat the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Fold in sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, birthday cake pieces, and sprinkles. Pour into a loaf pan, cover with foil, and freeze at least six hours but preferably overnight. To serve, allow to soften at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
