On our First “A-a”nniversary, Big A and I returned to the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market. My take of the day: this old Hamilton Beach stand mixer with milk glass bowls.

I’ve always pined for a KitchenAid, but since baking isn’t my favorite activity, it’s always seemed silly to me to spend so much on something that will likely just take up space on my counter. But this little guy was a fraction of the KitchenAid price and I just love its lines and overall look. So, with only the vendors assurance that it actually worked (it did look to be in very good shape), I lugged it back to the car mid-fleaing. It gets major points for form over the KitchenAid, but would it beat it when it comes to function? Only one way to find out – I’d have to actually bake something.

Good thing it’s Birthday Season in my downstairs neighbors’ apartment! Two year old Margaux was up next, and when I asked her mom if I could bake for her, she told me she was throwing her a big Pink Birthday Party since Margaux seems more interested in her older brother’s toys and tastes than little-girl ones, and she requested that I make a pink cake.

Oh boy… pink… my favorite…

I think Big A probably tried to force me into liking pink when I was about 2 for the same reasons… and I think it probably had the opposite of her intended effect and planted the seed of my life-long contentious relationship with the color. I can’t remember ever wearing a pink piece of clothing (at least not since I figured out I had a choice) and during my angst-filled teenage years, seeing anything pink just made me mad. Pink and me — we’re cool with each other now, but it’s been a long time getting here. Still, if there’s ever a choice between pink and any other color, I will always pick the other color. But, here I didn’t have a choice. “Pink” was the only parameter for this cake — cake flavor, frosting flavor, decoration — didn’t matter, so long as it was pink.

The good news is that since Big A posted about all those amazing cupcake varieties, I have been dying to try that Sprinkles Strawberry Frosting (I love strawberry flavored things!), which, conveniently, is naturally pink. And it’s the perfect time for strawberries, so, it seemed like a no-brainer to make a vanilla layer cake, fill it with delicious fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream (stand mixer test #1), and frost it with the pink Strawberry buttercream frosting (stand mixer test #2).

As a “not-baker”, I decided to just buy a cake mix (sorry, but no 2 year old can tell the difference between a mix and a scratch cake…). The Betty Crocker SuperMoist French Vanilla had just the right flavor and texture. I filled the cake with the whipped cream and sliced strawberries the night before to let it set. Since the frosting was pretty sweet, and the cake was pretty dense, this was a nice, light filling that added some welcome freshness to every bite. The frosting was so easy to make and it lived up to my high strawberry-flavored expectations. I think it’s my new favorite! Now, when it comes to decorating cakes, I like it simple and a little sloppy. I love to see the peaks in the frosting, and sometimes when a cake is too pretty, I’m intimidated to cut into it. I like a nice cake that says “get me all over your face!” and I thought my little 2 year old buddy would appreciate the same. A real ribbon bow tucked on top and held in place with a twist-tie (very MacGuyver) and a garnish of more fresh strawberry slices finished it off.

The mixer performed like a champ! Instead of rotating beaters, like on the KitchenAid, this mixer has a rotating bowl, which I found makes scraping down the sides much easier. And when they say “they don’t make ’em like they used to” this mixer may be what they had in mind. That old motor is a powerhouse and so much quieter than any new hand mixer I’ve owned before.

The neighbors always throw a great party, and this was no exception. The cake was a big hit with both the kids and adults. Margaux seemed to like it (she totally got it all over her face!), and I hope it will help her learn to give pink a chance. At least when it comes to food… this blue-jeans-and-t-shirt-kinda-girl just can’t help in the wearing-pink-dresses or playing-with-pink-princess-dolls department…

.a

0 thoughts on “The Perfect Pink Birthday Cake

  1. Khalil says:

    Love it! The cake AND the mixer.
    PS – You need to add a share button to your site…so I can post more easily on twitter and fb.
    xo!

  2. Theresa says:

    Absolutely delicious finished product! Everyone at the party loved the cake – esp miss margaux! Thanks again!

    -bday girl’s auntie

  3. Larissa says:

    Mummy and daddy ate the cake for two days afterwards, it was that good!! Thank you again neighbour! xx ps Spacemountain is FUN!

  4. Carol says:

    I made this for my Bunco last night and boy was it a hit! Since I didn’t have room in the fridge to put the finished cake, I couldn’t put whipped cream in the center, so I decided to use the extra strawberry puree for the filling. (I put the frosting down first, then topped it with the puree being careful not to get too close to the edge so it wouldn’t drip out). Then, I added 1/4 tsp. strawberry extract to the frosting to give it just a little more “strawberry punch”. Y-u-m-m-y!! (already had a piece for breakfast this morning…isn’t that part of Weight Watchers?? 🙂
    PS: And since PINK IS MY FAVORITE COLOR it looked so pretty! (sorry Alyssa ;0)

  5. Carissa says:

    I have the same mixer! I love it, too – unfortunately I used it so much that the beaters rusted, and I was searching for images of the mixer in order to buy replacement beaters… that’s how I found your site! My mixer must be a conglomeration of sorts because the beaters are rounded, like those of an earlier model (the internet is such a treasure trove of information!).

    I’m happy to have found so many other interesting bits here, as well — in fact, I ALSO have the same white metal plant stand (with the shelves in a “plus” shape?) that i saw in the background of the picture of your tasty cake. We must be kindred spirits! 🙂 I’m anxious to try the recipe you posted for chicken banh mi. MMM! Keep up the good work.

    • Alyssa says:

      ha! that’s awesome! love hearing things like this — thanks! warning about the banh mi — whoever you feed it to WILL ask you to make it again. and again and again…