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!
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
- 1For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of (2) non-stick 9” cake pans with parchment paper.
- 2In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium-low speed until creamy.
- 3Add sugar and oil. Continue beating until combined and creamy. Whisk in vanilla extract.
- 4In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- 5Gradually add milk to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed, pausing between additions to scrape down bowl, until incorporated. Clean & dry beaters.
- 6In 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.
- 7Divide 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.
- 8*While the cake is baking, make the buttercream frosting (see directions below in Step 12).
- 9Remove 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.
- 10To 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.
- 11Decorate with edible flowers and greens as desired. Serve immediately.
- 12Directions for buttercream frosting:
- 13In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and salt with an electric mixer until creamy.
- 14Gradually beat in powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup at a time), blending thoroughly after each addition.
- 15Beat 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.
- 16Spread generously on cake (see step 10 under cake directions). Serves 12
