Tiered Anniversary Cake

Cake closeup.

I made two large single layer cakes that we could cut into right away so that the stacked cake could stay intact for as long as possible.

 I'm happy to report that Michael and Marc loved their anniversary cake. I'm so pleased and in debt to my wonderful friends Cindy, Cheryl, Anne and Tiffany who helped me set up and serve.  It takes a team to cut hundreds of slices of cake.

Cindy also deserves a special shout out for helping me transport and stack the cake. On the ride to the church she held a cake on her lap, kept the flowers from tipping over and calmed my nerves.

I had to drive so slow and carefully to keep the cakes safe that I'm sure I irritated other drivers. Cindy and I came to the conclusion that I need a "cake on board" sign for my car. 

Cakes in the car. Cindy ended up holding the smallest cake in her lap and I'm so glad she did.  It would have tipped for sure had I left it in the back of the car.

It's such a good feeling when a cake is done and you realized it survived transport and stacking unscathed.

Once at the church, the setup went fairly smoothly and best of all, the cake was a hit. Thank you Michael and Marc for choosing me to be a part of your special day. Making cakes for friends is the best! Happy Anniversary!


Here are the recipes:


Red Velvet Cake
(makes 2 9-inch cakes)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ounce red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans.

Cream butter, add vanilla and mix well. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, sour cream, food coloring and buttermilk. Mix well. Add salt and baking soda. Mix well. Add cocoa powder and flour and mix just until blended. Don't over mix.

Divide batter among the two cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until done.


Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the milk and half of the sugar until simmering.

In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the cream, the other half of the sugar and cornstarch. Mix well with a whisk.

When the milk is simmering,  pour about half of it into the cream mixture and whisk well. Add it back to the milk in the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes very thick.

Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Put the mixture into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the mixture cool completely.

When the buttercream base is cool, transfer it to a mixer and whip until smooth, add the butter and the cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time and whip until light and fluffy.