Ruffle Cake with Tutorial Link

Have you seen all the lovely ruffle cakes that have been appearing on party and baking blogs, lately?  From the moment I saw the first one, I knew I wanted to try making one.  I must confess -- I am horrible at icing cakes. Although I can make a cupcake look pretty decent, I've never been good at cakes.  I am just not precise or steady-handed enough.  The draw of the ruffle cake is that it looks beautiful, even if it's not perfect.  Plus, I can't resist something with lots of gorgeous ruffles!

I made this cake for a Father's Day lunch today.  It only took about 10 minutes to do the ruffle icing effect.  If you want to try your own ruffle cake, head on over to Sweet & Saucy for a fabulous video tutorial.  Here is the recipe for the cake I made:

Fresh Strawberry with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Icing


For the cake:
1 Box White Cake Mix
1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
1/2 Madagascar vanilla bean
1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened seedless strawberry jam

For the icing:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 Madagascar vanilla bean
2-3 tablespoons milk
2-3 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cake batter according to instructions on package.  After mixing, add the strawberries.  Cut the vanilla bean in half, exposing the grainy inside of the bean.  Scrape the inside of the bean out into the batter, careful not to include any part of the outside of the bean.  Mix batter again for about 30 seconds to incorporate the added ingredients.

Bake the cake batter, according to the package instructions for two 9 inch round cake pans.  (Or, I used two 6 inch pans for the pictured cake, using only about 1/2 of the batter.  They baked for 25 minutes.)  After baking, let cakes cool completely on rack. 

To assemble the cake, spread the jam on top of the first layer, then place the second layer on top.  Place the assembled cake in the refrigerator while making the icing. 

For the icing, beat the butter, vanilla and vanilla bean (scraped in the same manner as described for the cake) on medium with an electric mixer, until smooth.  Gradually add powdered sugar, alternately with each tablespoon of milk, beating on low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.  If desired, beat in a little more milk or powdered sugar until reaching desired consistency and sweetness. 

For directions on how to ice the ruffle cake, please check HERE.  Enjoy!!