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One of the best parts of Anna’s childhood is being in her grandma’s bakery. She loved sitting on a barstool, listening to Grandma Beatrice explaining recipes and talking about how she made Grandpa Joe out of dough.
Anna particularly loved her birthdays because Grandma Beatrice made Anna the perfect cakes, using some of Anna’s favorite ingredients. Each birthday yielded a different cake, just as special as the year before.
Anna’s best friend Lily asked her to create a fun, colorful birthday cake for Lily’s daughter, Rose’s fourth birthday. While eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, an idea struck Anna, and her newest creation was born.
BEST Childhood Birthday Cake
Ingredients
For the Cereal Cake:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground Fruity Pebbles cereal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk
For the Cereal Milk:
1 cup milk
1 cup cereal
For the Cereal Buttercream Icing:
4 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup Fruity Pebbles, ground
How to Make
To make Cereal Milk:
Combine 1 cup of milk with 1 cup of cereal. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.
Pour cereal milk through a fine sieve, pressing through with a spatula.
To make Cereal Cake:
Have all your ingredients at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute on high speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the sugar to the butter and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the vanilla; then add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl midway through.
Combine the flour, ground cereal, baking powder, and sea salt in a separate bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture. When it's mostly incorporated, add half the milk. Add the remainder of the dry and wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Stop mixing as soon as you have a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the middle of the cake feels springy when you gently press your finger against it (approximately 30-35 minutes). All ovens are different, so it's important to do the fingerprint test to see if the cake is done.
Let the cake cool completely.
Brush tops of cakes with cereal milk.
To make Cereal Icing:
Add butter to mixer bowl. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides.
Add ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar at a time until completely blended.
Add in 5 tablespoons of cereal milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Beat on high for 10 minutes.
Use the icing in between layers on cooled cakes. Sprinkle ¼ cup of Fruity Pebbles on each icing layer, including the top.
If preferred, cover the sides of cakes with a light layer of buttercream and press Fruity Pebbles into icing.
The Baker's Man is available in paperback at Amazon. It is also available as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBook, KOBO, and other major retailers.