This old-fashioned boiled frosting is creamy and fluffy and reminded us of childhood.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
- 1 tablespoon green liquid food coloring
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch fine salt
- Green liquid or gel food coloring, optional
- Green candies and sanding sugar for decorating, optional
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment and butter the parchment; set aside. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the buttermilk, food coloring and vanilla in a spouted measuring cup; set aside.
- Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) on medium speed until very light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer still running, slowly add the eggs and beat until fully incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to the lowest speed; with it running, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, then 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining buttermilk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and beat until well mixed. Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes in the pan, then turn out to cool completely.
- For the frosting: Put the flour in a small saucepan. Vigorously whisk in about 1/2 cup of the milk, making sure to get the whisk into the edges of the pan, until you have a smooth, thick paste. (This step keeps the flour from clumping.) Slowly whisk in the remaining milk until fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes. (Toward the end of the process, the mixture will become a thick paste; it may seem to be forming lumps, but whisk vigorously and the lumps will disappear.) Scrape the frosting into a bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate until cool, about 45 minutes.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the cooled flour mixture a tablespoon at a time and beat until smooth. Switch to the whisk attachment (or continue with the hand mixer), add the vanilla, salt and 3 to 5 drops food coloring if using and whip until very light and fluffy, like thick whipped cream, up to 10 minutes with a stand mixer or 12 minutes with a hand mixer.
- To assemble: Place one layer on a cake plate, spread frosting on top and repeat with the 2 remaining layers. Frost the sides and decorate with candies and sanding sugar if using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 880 |
| Total Fat | 49 g |
| Saturated Fat | 31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 103 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 74 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 183 mg |
| Sodium | 334 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 880 |
| Total Fat | 49 g |
| Saturated Fat | 31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 103 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 74 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 183 mg |
| Sodium | 334 mg |
Reviews
I guess my first clue is that all the reviews talked about the color of the cake and how great the frosting was! Color of the cake and icing turned out beautifully. The cake looked great however seemed dense and lacked flavor. The icing was great but that is where the flavor was. I’ve made a lot of cakes and this was a disappointing one in flavor. My close friends agreed. Again, I bake a lot and this one got a B+ grade.
To those complaining about the color, when baking anything with food coloring, you need to make the batter much brighter than the results you want. I used Wiltons gel food coloring colors Hunter Green and Teal mixed in equal quantities and the final baked result turned out beautifully. Additionally, this frosting is amazing and will be my go-to for now on in place of buttercream. My kids like this one better than much better than buttercream.
Love the frosting!
We liked the cake. It tasted good. The only problem was the color. Turns out green cake gives the appearance of mold. I had to fight the gag reflex every time I looked at it. The shade of green food coloring I used was probably the problem. Go for a brighter shade of green.
Cake, ok. Frosting has become my most favorite go to frosting. I use it as a base and have played around with several variations. Chocolate, lemon, coconut, strawberry. I usually add a little cream cheese. It’s consistently light, fluffy, and not overly sweet. Did I mention easy?
Cake color came out an army green. Cake and frosting had no taste. Very disappointed.
Made this with my daughter for St. Patrick’s Day because my 10 year old was inspired by Kids Baking Challenge. The cake came out good and the icing was amazing! I’m not used to making cooked icing so this was a new one for me. The only different thing I did was instead of using 1 1/2 cups of milk for this icing I used 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1 cup of milk. It made for some heavenly icing and there was plenty of it for the cake and filling. Another thing I will do differently next time is use 8 inch pans instead of the 9 inch ones I had on hand. Instead of creating 3 tiers it came out to 2 and the only problem was that it took longer for the middle of the cake to cook which caused the one layer to overcook a slight bit. However, it still tasted good.All in all a great recipe and yummy cake!
I used my old red velvet recipe (which adds 2tbsp of white vinegar) and substituted green for red. I always use a cream cheese icing because my family likes it better. I also use this for most holidays and just change the coloring. Fun to play with!
I made this cake for all the football fans in my family that bleed green. It was easy enough to make and yes there was some extra icing, but they spoon fed themselves with it. The cake was green so I don’t understand how some comments state that their cake was brown. The cake presents very nicely and it was excellent.
i followed your instructions, came out horrible!!! i have too much icing!!! the cake wont cook right!!!!!!