Originally posted November 6, 2011

I used a disgusting amount of butter this weekend.  Between a birthday cake for my mom, cherry squares for my dad, another birthday cake for some friends’ party, and biscuits this morning, I literally have none left in my refrigerator.  All of the items turned out pretty well though!

For now, I’ll start with my mom’s birthday cake.  We all have our favorite desserts on our birthday.  Mine is Betty Crocker Butter Recipe Golden (not yellow) cake from a box with canned cream cheese icing.  You can make me a real cake, but nothing will ever compare to what comes out of the box, and since it is my birthday, that’s what I choose.

My mom’s favorite is yellow cake with chocolate icing.  Since she was coming in town for her birthday (and for the opening of the Container Store and to go shopping in our new Nordstroms), I figured I should find the best yellow cake with chocolate fudge icing I could.

I turned to smitten kitchen, and she didn’t let me down.  To be honest, I didn’t even really taste the cake, it just acts as a medium for eating the chocolate icing.  For any of your friends who want yellow cake with chocolate icing on their birthday, I recommend trying this out.  The chocolate icing is extremely easy as long as you have a food processor.  If you are in a bind, you can use the Betty Crocker yellow cake box mix and then making this icing.

Now, I better go help out my mom since she has already re-organized my whole closet and cleaned all my clothes — on HER birthday weekend!

I used the recipes exactly, so I won’t re-print, rather just refer you to the links:
yellow cake (http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/)
chocolate fudge icing (scroll down to the last recipe, it is the Instant Fudge Frosting, not the recipes with the expresso): http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/08/espresso-chiffon-cake-with-fudge-frosting/
Tips:
I used cake flour for the first time.  It took me forever to find because they don’t have it with the other flours.  Instead, it is in the section with the cake mixes.

Make sure you put a cookie sheet underneath the cake pans when baking, mine majorly overflowed

For your leftover buttermilk you can make my cinnamon biscuits!