Princess Castle Birthday Cake

So, for awhile there, I was on a roll with my blogging...but, these past few weeks have been pretty rough for me. I've been suffering from TMJ pain for over 2 weeks, so it has been really hard to do much of anything, besides try and rest. Hopefully all will be back to normal sooner than later.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to bake a cake for my friend's daughter! I was excited because the was my first time baking for a birthday party. There was a specific cake in mind, so I studied the video on youtube and wanted to try and recreate this adorable cake for the birthday. The cake is in the shape of a castle--something I've never done before, so I knew it would be a bit challenging. The video makes building this cake simple, and it really isn't hard, but it does take a good amount of time and patience :)

I made white cake, and I'll admit, I cheated and used the box. I knew that it was going to take me awhile and I needed 4 8" square pieces to build with. It would have added a lot of time to make it all from scratch, and I wanted to focus more energy on the actual design. I did make the hot pink frosting from scratch though--which was definitely necessary, because I wasn't sure how much I was going to need to frost the entire cake. After baking the cakes, cooling them, assembling them, frosting, setting the frosting, and completing the decorations, I was exhausted! I definitely felt as though I accomplished what I had set out to do.





I was a little disappointed that it seemed a little slanted toward the top, but I couldn't figure out a way to fix it without ruining the cake! Next time, I will need dowels--or something to hold it together better than toothpicks! But, I am still learning here...



My husband helped me transport the cake to my friend's house, and I was so hoping it wouldn't collapse. It needed to stay together overnight because I had made it the day before too! We got it there safely...and I was told it stayed beautifully until the party the next day. I received several compliments on the cake, which was really nice to hear. I'm so glad it turned out and that I was able to pull off a special birthday cake. I hope there are more to come :)

For the Buttercream Frosting:
~3 cups confectioners sugar
~1 cup butter
~1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~1-2 Tablespoons whipping cream
~Red food coloring

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency. If you want to make the frosting pink, add red food color until you reach color desired.



**I doubled this recipe to frost this cake!

Here is the link to the youtube video if you wish to check it out!