Sweet sixteen, how has this happened? She was just a baby only yesterday, now growing into a young woman before our very eyes. A year of transition to early adulthood with new responsibilities, a new sense of independence. She is a remarkable young woman, and I am so proud of everything she has accomplished, everything she stands for. To celebrate this coming of age, I baked her Christina Tosi's birthday layer cake.
a coming of age
blossoming before our eyes
happy sweet sixteen
I've owned Christina Tosi's cookbook 'Milk Bar' for years. The recipes are more complex than average but never disappoint. The birthday layer cake looks so festive! I've thought about baking it but had been intimidated by the multiple steps. I wanted to bake something special for Addison's sweet sixteen birthday, so I decided to take a chance. I put a lot of heart, soul, and love into baking her the birthday layer cake, and she loved it!
The cake begins with baking birthday cake crumb. These crunchy, rich, buttery crumbs are irresistible. It's so tempting to eat them by the handfuls before using them in any recipe. They are a combination of sugars, cake flour, rainbow sprinkles, clear vanilla extract, etc., that are slowly baked, then allowed to cool. A truly decadent addition that gives a bit of a crunch and puts the flavor over the top.
Next, you bake a sheet cake with ingredients including cake flour, butter, shortening, sugars, buttermilk, and grapeseed oil. The flavor is enhanced with clear vanilla extract. Rainbow sprinkles are added to the batter to give the birthday cake an extra air of festivity.
slide show of birthday sheet cake
While the cake is cooling, whip up the birthday cake soak and the birthday cake frosting.
The soak is a combination of milk and clear vanilla extract that's whipped together and set aside.
The birthday cake frosting is so rich and creamy, the perfect topping for any cake. It begins with creaming butter, shortening, and cream cheese. Then slowly stream in glucose, corn syrup, and clear vanilla extract. Finish with adding confectioners' sugar, salt, baking powder, and citric acid. Beat until you have a brilliant white, smooth frosting.
To assemble, use a six inch cake ring to cut two rounds out of the sheet cake. Place the cleaned six inch cake ring on a parchment lined sheet pan. Cut the remaining cake into pieces and press into the cake ring for the first layer. Brush with the birthday cake soak. Smooth one fifth of the frosting over this layer, sprinkle with a third of the crumb and lightly press it into the frosting, and then another one fifth of the frosting. Fit a sheet of acetate inside the cake ring to allow for a height of six inches. Place one of the cake rounds and repeat the soak, frosting, crumbs, and frosting layers. Place the other cake round, top with the soak, thick layer of frosting, and top with the birthday cake crumb. Below is a video of assembling the cake.
video of cake assembly
The cake has to set, tightly wrapped in saran wrap, in the freezer for a minimum of twelve hours or up to two weeks. Remove from the freezer, gently push the cake out of the cake ring, and remove the acetate. Wrap with saran wrap and defrost in the refrigerator for three hours before serving.
Addison had a wonderful sweet sixteen birthday!