Fluffy Frosting Fun

(This is a guest post from my husband...not only did he bake for my birthday, but he blogged as well!)

It isn't a birthday without a cake and you shouldn't have to bake one for yourself so the boys invaded the kitchen and the computer for this birthday post.  A chocolate cake with some type of buttercream was requested.

The regular blogger has been known to sit with a bowl, a spoon, and a smile and later complain of belly aches when there has been leftover buttercream from icing previous cakes so we were looking for a special buttercream.  A co-worker had brought in red-velvet whoopie pie's with marshmallow buttercream and I was sold. While I couldn't find fancy marshmallow cream, most recipes said Fluff will suffice and it most certainly did.

As far as the cake goes my instructions are as follows:

Find your favorite search engine...google, yahoo or, if you want your favorite food personalities, go to foodtv.com and type in chocolate cake.  Pick a recipe that fits your schedule and supplies and go from there.  Lets be honest, this cake is merely a marshmallow buttercream vehicle.  I like multi layer cakes, so we baked two 8 inch rounds and sliced off the top of one to flatten it out for stacking and be able to nibble on the cake (a must when your assistant is a four-year old).

Next the icing:

Have your assistant slice two sticks of softened, unsalted butter into little pieces and throw them into the mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy (a couple of minutes).

Next add 7 ounces of marshmallow fluff or 3/4 cup marshmallow creme (I looked in 3 stores and couldn't find anything fancier than fluff) again beat on high till light and fluffy.

For the write-in portion of the program, if anyone has a good way to get 7oz of fluff out of the jar and into a spinning kitchen-aid mixer without covering yourself in sweet, sticky fluffness, I would love your suggestions.

Moving on...turn the mixer to low and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, then slowly add 1/2 to 1 cup (depending on desired sweetness) of sifted confectioners sugar until combined, then turn mixer to high until...you guessed it....light and fluffy.

In honor of spring, birthdays, and just the fact that we have neon food coloring we decided to kick it up a  notch and make a bright three-color cake.

While Elijah wanted a rainbow on top, dad's decorating skills and flat spatula (thank you pharmacy conference) weren't up to the task so we ended up with more of a sunflower type of look and it was delicious.

- An Almost Chef's husband