Chocolate Chip Butter Cake and Buttercream Frosting



I wanted to make a somewhat unexpected birthday cake for Edie's birthday. And since she's such a little thief when it comes to chocolate chips, I thought I'd try a a chocolate chip cake. I found a recipe here, and put my own spin on it.

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Old-Fashioned Butter Cake with Chocolate Chips

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup soft butter

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips*

1. Cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla.

2. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine chocolate chips with a bit of the flour. Alternately add flour and milk, ending with flour. Add chocolate chips. Mix each addition until just combined.

3. Pour batter into greased and floured cake pans (two 8-inch round cake pans or a 9x13-inch pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. **

4. Cool cake in pans for 15 minutes before removing. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

*I used mini chocolate chips, but feel free to use any type of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate you prefer. Despite my best efforts, the chocolate chips still sank to the bottom of the cake. When I frosted the cake, I just faced the layers so the chocolate encased the frosting.

**In order to get the two-tiered cake for Edie's birthday, I made two batched of the cake. The first in two 8-inch cake pans, the second in a 9x13-inch pan, which I cut two circles out of and layered together.

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Buttercream Frosting

1 cup soft butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
8-10 tbsp milk

1. Beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt.

2. Gradually add half of powdered sugar. Add half of milk, one tbsp at a time, to loosen frosting. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and milk in similar fashion. Once incorporated, beat at high speed until white and fluffy.

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I added white and red drages to the cake once frosted, then rolled and cut blue and white fondant for the ribbons. When cutting the cake, I removed the top tier and served slices from that first. The bottom tier was cut by making an inner and outer circle and cuting wedges from it. For a tutorial, click here.