Green Birthday Cake

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• Green Birthday Cake

This recipe uses a special green food coloring that comes in a soft gel paste (available on Amazon). It is highly concentrated, so if you decide to use normal food coloring, you'll need to add several dozen drops, or more, to get the desired color. I'd recommend getting the complete rainbow set because then you can also make Rainbow Birthday Cake

• Two Hours Before Starting
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
• One to two hours before you plan on making the cake, remove eggs and milk from fridge and let come to room temperature.
• ½ pound (2 sticks) butter
• Place butter on plate and let rise to room temperature.
• Cake Pan and Oven Prep
• vegetable shortening or butter
• flour
• parchment or wax paper
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease four 9 inch cake pans with vegetable shortening or butter and cover pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or wax paper. Grease parchment rounds, dust cake pans with flour, and tap out excess.
• Batter
• reserved eggs
• reserved milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Measure 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.
• 10 ½ ounces (1 ½ cups) sugar
• 7 ounces (1 ¾ cup) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
• reserved, sliced butter
• Add butter pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into small, pea-sized pieces with the flour.
• half of reversed egg-milk-vanilla mixture
• Add half of reserved egg-milk-vanilla mixture and mix at lowest speed with a hand mixer until incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds.
• remaining egg-milk-vanilla-mixture
• Increase speed to high, add remaining egg mixture, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
• Stop mixer and thoroughly scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Beat on medium-high until thoroughly combined and batter looks slightly curdled, about 15 seconds longer.
• Pour equal amounts of batter into four separate bowls.
• 2 drops green soft gel paste food coloring (available on Amazon)
• Add 1 drop of green food coloring to the first bowl and whisk to combine.
• 4 drops green soft gel paste food coloring
• Add 4 drops of green food coloring to the second bowl and whisk to combine.
• 8 drops green soft food gel paste food coloring
• Add 8 drops of green food coloring to the third bowl and whisk to combine.
• 12 drops green soft food gel paste food coloring
• Add 12 drops of green food coloring to the fourth bowl and whisk to combine.
• Baking
• Going from the lightest to darkest batter, pour each bowl of batter into a separate prepared cake pan. Spread batter to sides of pan and smooth with rubber spatula. Lift up each cake pan into the air about four inches and drop onto counter to evenly distribute batter and knock out any air bubbles. (Note: If you do not have four cake pans, then bake as many as you are able to, clean your pan(s), prepare them again as noted above, and cook remaining layers.)
• Bake until cake tops are a light golden green and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cakes may rise in center slightly but will level when cooled.
• Remove pan from oven and cool on rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen. Invert cake onto large plate, peel off parchment, and reinvert onto lightly greased rack. Cool completely before icing.
• Decorating
• 18 ounces white icing or
• 2 drops green soft gel paste food coloring
• If desired, make your own buttercream frosting, but if you're making a cake for a child's birthday, they may prefer to have store bought frosting. Prepare or purchase frosting and place in a large bowl. Add 2 drops of green food coloring (or more as desired), and mix together with a spatula.
• Place the lightest layer of green cake on the bottom of a plate or cake platter. Cover generously with prepared green icing. Top with second lightest green layer of cake and decorate with icing. Top with second darkest layer and decorate with icing. Finally, place darkest layer of cake on the top and decorate with icing.
• green or white sprinkles
• Decorate top of cake with sprinkles as desired.
• Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.

• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
• ½ pound (2 sticks) butter
• vegetable shortening or butter
• flour
• parchment or wax paper
• reserved eggs
• reserved milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 ½ ounces (1 ½ cups) sugar
• 7 ounces (1 ¾ cup) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• reserved, sliced butter
• half of reversed egg-milk-vanilla mixture
• remaining egg-milk-vanilla-mixture
• 2 drops green soft gel paste food coloring (available on Amazon)
• 4 drops green soft gel paste food coloring
• 8 drops green soft food gel paste food coloring
• 12 drops green soft food gel paste food coloring
• 18 ounces white icing or
• 2 drops green soft gel paste food coloring
• green or white sprinkles

1. One to two hours before you plan on making the cake, remove eggs and milk from fridge and let come to room temperature.
2. Place butter on plate and let rise to room temperature.
3. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease four 9 inch cake pans with vegetable shortening or butter and cover pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or wax paper. Grease parchment rounds, dust cake pans with flour, and tap out excess.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Measure 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. Add butter pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into small, pea-sized pieces with the flour.
7. Add half of reserved egg-milk-vanilla mixture and mix at lowest speed with a hand mixer until incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds.
8. Increase speed to high, add remaining egg mixture, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
9. Stop mixer and thoroughly scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Beat on medium-high until thoroughly combined and batter looks slightly curdled, about 15 seconds longer.
10. Pour equal amounts of batter into four separate bowls.
11. Add 1 drop of green food coloring to the first bowl and whisk to combine.
12. Add 4 drops of green food coloring to the second bowl and whisk to combine.
13. Add 8 drops of green food coloring to the third bowl and whisk to combine.
14. Add 12 drops of green food coloring to the fourth bowl and whisk to combine.
15. Going from the lightest to darkest batter, pour each bowl of batter into a separate prepared cake pan. Spread batter to sides of pan and smooth with rubber spatula. Lift up each cake pan into the air about four inches and drop onto counter to evenly distribute batter and knock out any air bubbles. (Note: If you do not have four cake pans, then bake as many as you are able to, clean your pan(s), prepare them again as noted above, and cook remaining layers.)
16. Bake until cake tops are a light golden green and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cakes may rise in center slightly but will level when cooled.
17. Remove pan from oven and cool on rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen. Invert cake onto large plate, peel off parchment, and reinvert onto lightly greased rack. Cool completely before icing.
18. If desired, make your own buttercream frosting, but if you're making a cake for a child's birthday, they may prefer to have store bought frosting. Prepare or purchase frosting and place in a large bowl. Add 2 drops of green food coloring (or more as desired), and mix together with a spatula.
19. Place the lightest layer of green cake on the bottom of a plate or cake platter. Cover generously with prepared green icing. Top with second lightest green layer of cake and decorate with icing. Top with second darkest layer and decorate with icing. Finally, place darkest layer of cake on the top and decorate with icing.
20. Decorate top of cake with sprinkles as desired.
21. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.