Whoa! That's old!

The other day I went to babysit my cousin's three kids. At one point the eldest had asked me how old I was. In which I answered "23." The youngest then asked how old my mom was. She's 60, I said. He quickly replied, "Whoa! That's old!"

In the eyes of a 3 year old, being 60 is the same as being a dinosaur. Ancient and unfathomable. 

While it does seem old, you are never too old for cake. So to celebrate my mom's birthday (which is actually today) I had made a yellow cake and chocolate (ganache) frosting.

INGREDIENTS

2  1/4 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 stick of butter (room temperature) 

1  1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

• Grease and line a 9x13in pan (2 circular 9in pans will work as well). Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) together. 
• Beat together butter and sugar until smooth.
• Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.

• Add the evaporated milk, water and vanilla slowly.

• Once the mixture is combined and smooth, slowly beat in the dry ingredients.

• Now the batter should be light and smooth.
• Pour the batter into your pan(s) and bake for 20 minutes. 

• When the cake is done baking, the center will have a 'bounce' to it. Gently press the center and you will be able to see the indent from your finger bounce back. If you're not sure, try the toothpick test. That's my go to answer for everything.

To frost the cake, I just made a chocolate ganache and whipped it for a couple of minutes until it was light and fluffy. I think this experiment went fairly well. Clearly decorating cakes isn't my thing but I needed a quick, simple and yummy frosting so this seemed like the way to go.

Here's the finished product. I have never made a yellow cake before. For a first attempt, I'd consider this a success. It was moist and tasted like a true yellow cake. However, my sister said the chocolate frosting overpowered the cake's flavor. I on the other hand enjoyed it. Maybe that's because it tasted like an airy chocolate bar. So what's not to love about that? I guess the next time I experiment with this recipe, the frosting will need to be altered.

All this typing has worked up an appetite. Time for another slice of cake.