Perfect Birthday Cake

This simple vanilla cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting makes a perfect birthday cake!! No-fail tender crumbs, sweet and tart raspberry cream cheese frosting and simple chocolate decoration is a match made in heaven!

If you’d ask anyone what’s their favorite birthday cake, you’ll get different answers. Some will say they love classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Others prefer chocolate cake all the way. And there are those who want simple vanilla cake on their special day.

Classic vanilla cake may sound boring. But our today’s vanilla cake is nothing but boring. And here’s why.

Vanilla Cake Layers

I’m sharing a special technique for making the batter, that guarantees the most tender crumbs.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Then we’ll take things up a notch by pairing it with amazing raspberry cream cheese frosting. You see that beautiful pink frosting there?

It has no food coloring!!! The magic ingredient is freeze-dried raspberries. Because they’re so potent in flavor, it adds amazing flavor to cream cheese frosting without added moisture, which could make a runny frosting.

Cake Decoration

And why stop there? Wrap the cake with a beautiful, but totally effortless, chocolate design, and you’re well on your way to impress the birthday girl (or boy)! You can check out my easy tutorial for chocolate cage design here.

Another great idea to decorate a cake: dust crushed freeze-dried raspberries over the cake for that elegant look!

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Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

This simple vanilla cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting makes a perfect birthday cake!! No-fail tender crumbs, sweet and tart raspberry cream cheese frosting and simple chocolate decoration is a match made in heaven!

Yield: 12 servings

Cook Time:25min

Total Time:About 5 hours (includes cooling time)

Ingredients:

For Vanilla Cake:

• 1 ½ cups (190gr) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (75gr) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup (150gr) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean, or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

• ½ cup freeze-dried raspberries
• 8oz (225gr) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, or milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. To make the cake, line 2 9-inch (23cm) round cake pans with parchment paper and spray the pans with cooking spray as well.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds inside.
5. In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, buttermilk, scraped vanilla beans and vanilla extract and mix well, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until everything is well combined, 2-3 minutes.
6. Divide the batter into cake pans and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until the inserted tooth pick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. (At this point, cake layers can be wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
7. To make the frosting, place the freeze-dry raspberries in between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, crush the berries into a fine powder. Alternatively, you can pulse the berries in a small food processor. Sift the powder through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
8. In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until nice and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
9. Add powdered sugar, raspberry powder, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt. Beat on low until the mixture is combined, then increase the speed to medium high. Beat for about 3 minutes, or until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
10. To assemble the cake, place one layer of vanilla cake on a cake platter. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 1/3 of the frosting evenly and place the second cake layer on top. Cover the whole cake with the remaining frosting. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving.
11. Check out this tutorial for easy chocolate cage decoration.

All images and text ©Shinee D. for Sweet & Savory

Nutrition Information

Yield: 12 servings, Serving Size: 1 slice

• Amount Per Serving:
• Calories: 342 Calories
• Total Fat: 17g
• Cholesterol: 76mg
• Sodium: 428mg
• Carbohydrates: 43.2g
• Sugar: 30.4g
• Protein: 4.4g

All photographs and content on Sweet & Savory by Shinee is copyright protected, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use any of my photos without my authorization. If you would like to share my recipe, you may re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the full directions. Thank you for your cooperation!

Products used in this recipe:

(may include affiliate links)

Cuisinart Set of 3 Fine Mesh Strainers

Magnetic Measuring Spoons

Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste

Non-Stick 9 Inch Round Cake Pan Set