Recipes > Dessert > Clo’s Earth Day Garden Cake

Clo’s Earth Day Garden Cake

This beautiful baked from scratch-cake is the perfect Earth Day treat for your family. Made with local Clover Sonoma butter and eggs. Decorated with a show stopping variety of edible botanicals. This moist vanilla cake with rich buttercream frosting is a visual stunner because it looks as good as it tastes! We think Mother Nature would approve so let’s bake!

Prep time: 90min

Cook time: 30min

Dietary Restrictions: Vegetarian

Ingredients

For the cake:

6 Tbl. Clover Organic Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup organic sunflower or avocado oil
2 cups sugar
1 Tbl. pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbl. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup Clover Organic Whole Milk
6 Clover Large Brown Cage Free Eggs, separated into whites and brought room temperature
for decoration: a variety of edible flowers (pansies, nasturtiums, violets or other seasonal botanicals; fresh fennel fronds.

For the vanilla buttercream frosting:

2 cups Clover Organic Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbl. Clover Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of (2) non-stick 9” cake pans with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium-low speed until creamy.

Add sugar and oil. Continue beating until combined and creamy. Whisk in vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Gradually add milk to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed, pausing between additions to scrape down bowl, until incorporated. Clean & dry beaters.

In a medium bowl, beat room temperature egg whites on high-speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg white meringue into the batter until combined. *Do not over mix.

Divide batter evenly into the prepared cake pans, and bake on center oven rack for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*While the cake is baking, make the buttercream frosting (see directions below in Step 12).

Remove from oven and place pans on cooling racks for 10-15 minutes. Gently loosen cake from sides of pan with a knife. Invert cake rounds onto cooling racks, and finish cooling completely.

To frost, center one cake round on a cake stand. Spread about a cup of frosting evenly on top. Place the other cake round on top of the first. Generously frost the sides and top of the cake with remaining frosting.

Decorate with edible flowers and greens as desired. Serve immediately.

Directions for buttercream frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and salt with an electric mixer until creamy.

Gradually beat in powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup at a time), blending thoroughly after each addition.

Beat in heavy cream, (1) tablespoon at a time, on medium-low speed. Add vanilla extract and beat on high for about 30 seconds more until creamy.

Spread generously on cake (see step 10 under cake directions). Serves 12