The Best Yellow Cake {Single Layer}

Yesterday was my son's second birthday.  It snowed that morning, and I thought he'd be thrilled.

Like these smiling beauties.

I mean, I was happy about the garden getting covered. We need the moisture badly.

 But no.  Drew didn't just not like it. He hated it with every inch of his body and cried the entire time we were outside.  All ten minutes of it.

So I had to make it up to him.  The kid loves treats (like any sane person), and during a healthy dinner, he'll turn to me, break into an adorable smile, and ask, "May I have ____?"  Usually, he's requesting cookies, pretzels, crackers, cheese, bread, or cake.  And usually, I say no (and the hide in the closet later while eating cookies myself).

Not on his birthday, though.

To celebrate, I made a single layer yellow cake from scratch.  The single layer meant we didn't have oodles of leftovers, and it also meant that I didn't have to frost it if I didn't want to.

This cake is moist, a little dense, and tastier than you can believe.  You will want to slap your momma it's so good.  It's not going to taste like a box mix, though. You won't get the spongy light corn-syrupy taste of Betty Crocker.  This is a different experience altogether.  You'll be reminded a bit of pound cake, yet without excessive weight.  And you'll want to eat the whole damn thing in one sitting because it's that good.  I served it with whipped cream, but it's delicious nekkid, too.

Enjoy it, y'all!

Side note: If you replace any of these ingredients with things like applesauce or wheat grass or cardboard trimmings, you're not allowed to complain.  

Single Layer Yellow Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 8 inch round pan. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In the mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Don't skimp on this.  Let those babies get a good beating in the mixer. (Confession: I had to soften the butter in the microwave and accidentally melted some of it.  The texture of the cake was still awesome)
3.  Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Mine needed 30 minutes, but our oven errs on the cooler side.  Watch yours carefully because if you over-bake it, it will be dry.  If it's done correctly, it will not be dry at all.
5. Cool for awhile and then serve. I left it in the cake pan (I know, I know, serious bakers would dump it out the pan and cool it on a rack, but I never claimed to be serious about anything except the fact that butter is so much better than margarine).  If you want, you can make frosting and use that or serve the cake with whipped cream.  

The price of homemade

Here at the Kiefer Cottage, we pride ourselves on making things from scratch.  Store bought pancake mix? Nah.  Cut and bake cookies?  Nope.  It's nice to know the ingredients in our foods.  And often, it's cheaper and more importantly, better tasting.

Marshmallows? Well, until today, I'd just purchased those at the store.  Rarely.  I'm not a huge fan of them.

But last month's issue of Sunset featured tons of recipes for camping.  By the way, I love that magazine. I might not live in the West, but I get tons of info.  Lots of recipes, ideas for the garden, and of course, pure envy of all the natural beauty.

Anywho, one feature included a recipe for homemade s'mores.  As in, you make the marshmallows, you make the graham crackers, you tote them to the campsite and then make the s'mores up fresh.  Since my  mom told me that years ago she made crackers and it took approximately 72 hours and shaved years off  her life, I decided to try the 'mallows instead.  (FYI Mom also made chocolate truffles about a decade ago, toiling for hours.  She stuck 'em in the fridge, moved 'em to New Orleans from Memphis, and last I heard, still had a few left.  Apparently, they're still good.  Right, Mom? Only the lucky ones get to try them. Perhaps I should be grateful I have not been so lucky.)

So in honor of my father and stepmom's trip to Yosemite (oh, I think it's that park. I get them all confused), for which they arrived tonight, I made s'mores.  And drank wine.  I did it without a candy thermometer, and they turned out very well, despite the cussing and the questioning--Is that soft ball? Or ultra-hard ball? Or are they chocolate salty balls? Did I just say balls??  hehehe.  Dammit, the sugar is getting too hot.

You can find the recipe here.

I do not have many photos.  The recipe requires about three dozen things happening at once, and my resident photographer wasn't around, so I've got after-shots.

The finished marshmallows.

Oh, yeah.

We didn't have an open flame to heat them up over, so I melted the chocolate in the microwave and smeared it on the insides of the graham crackers.  

Don't you love the dessert plate--that gal is getting the boob discount, too.

Happy customers enjoyed the dessert.  They did not enjoy the bath afterward.

Nor did we enjoy dealing with the mess afterward, either.

Verdict?  The marshmallows tasted good.  But not good enough to make again anytime soon.  I'm fine with buying them as often as I need them, which is pretty darn infrequently.  Maybe once a year.  

I am thinking about making the graham crackers, however.  Ryan's younger than I am, so it's okay if I lose a few years from it.  Starr, are you drunk? that makes no sense. Why, yes, apparently I was when I wrote that. I meant that *Ryan* could afford to make some for me!  Is that better?