Flower Basket Cake

This is my 100^th post and I wanted to make something special. I have tried my best to make this cake look like a basket. This is a simple vanilla cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. This was made for my dear hubby.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup unsalted butter ( 57 gms)
• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup + 1 Tablespoons milk
• 4 egg whites

Lightly grease 2 9 inch round pans and line bottom with parchment paper.

Pre heat oven to 350˚F (175˚C).

With the standing mixer/ hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla essence and beat for a minute. Add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Stir until just combined.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until foamy and fold into the flour mixture. Pour the batter into two pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool on wire racks completely.

Chocolate Butter cream frosting

• 2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 6-8 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, sifted
• ½ tsp. table salt
• 1 tbsp. vanilla essence
• 8 tbsp. milk

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Add 6 cups of powdered sugar gradually and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so you don’t get a cloud of sugar everywhere) until the sugar has completely mixed with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla essence, salt, and 4 tablespoons of milk and beat for about 5 minutes.

Note: If the frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk at a time.

{NOTE: The flowers are made of vanilla butter cream. I had set aside few frosting before adding the cocoa powder. Also I have added few drops of red colour. I have used Tip # 12.

For basket, I have used Tip # 47, 44 & 32.

Leaves are made out of rolled fondants. }