It’s been a busy cake week here. A certain handsome man in my life dove another year deeper into his thirties. I dove a little deeper in love with chocolate ganache.

OK… And him. More to come on that soon – promise! (the ganache – not the man)

If you don’t know me personally, you may not know how I feel about birthdays. I love em’! I really LOVE BIRTHDAYS!!! Now you know…

As a child, I would plan my birthday parties an obnoxious amount of months in advance, stressing every little detail: guest list, catering, party bags. I had hosted very glamorous pool parties at the YMCA. And sleepover parties! I had the best sleep over parties. Anyone remember ‘Girl Talk’? I loved that game.

But lets get on to why your really here: CAKE. In total, I made 3 cakes in 4 days. My oven was exhausted, my belly was plump, and my jeans are feeling quite snug.

I made two cakes for the celebration: one very very small cake with 6 layers total; 3 layers of chocolate butter cake, and 3 layers of almond butter cake wrapped in marzipan and bittersweet chocolate; then a giant 3 tier double chocolate layer cake with raspberry filling. There was mega cake consumption happening here.

I made both decadent cakes in advance: flash freezing one, and just covering the other and keeping it chilled. After spending 7 hours total mixing, baking, and washing a mountain of cake related dishes… I couldn’t help feeling entitled to a slice. The issue being of course, the first cake being served wouldn’t be sliced into for another 2 days. 2 days! The toddler in me couldn’t help but throw a fit.

I gathered up what I had on hand, typed it into google search with the word ‘cake’ glued to the end, and viola –  a recipe for Raspberry – Buttermilk Cake popped up. It basically winked at me. I had to make it. What was another hour in the kitchen, if it ended with a warm slice of cake?

Making this cake was a great decision! Making cake is pretty much always a great decision…

It tasted phenomenal. Satisfying. It was the perfect slice to hold me over until the chocolate madness to come later in the week. It was… call me predictable… the perfect breakfast cake. I really really enjoy cake for breakfast… it goes so well with my coffee.

The texture is undeniably moist. The crunchy sugar topping is lovely. The raspberries baked in taste, and look, gorgeous! And a light – just bold enough – touch of lemon zest balances out this cake into a lovely combination of flavors. It was wonderful!

I sliced my cake up immediately and froze individual pieces so I could have a fresh piece every morning… so naughty sometimes! You should be too.

I’m super excited to see Wilco in Central Park this weekend! What are your plans?

Raspberry – Buttermilk Cake – SmittenKitchen

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (56 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (146 grams) plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large (57 grams) egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup (5 ounces or 140 grams) fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup (146 grams) sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter (see Note) raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.