Everyone's Favorite Birthday Cake - Martha Stewart's Birthday - Baked Occasions

I am not Martha Stewart, but I do enjoy seeing what she has created for decorating, diy, and so many recipes. This is not my first time making this cake. The first time I made it I thought the cake itself was great, but I did not enjoy the tang of the cream cheese frosting. So this time I decided to use more butter and no cream cheese. The cake itself is light and airy with great flavor. The icing without the cream cheese is much better in my opinion, the tang is not necessary.

When I made it this way now I am reminded of my dad's favorite cake that we made often. It was a yellow cake made from a box with chocolate frosting. The frosting we actually made from scratch and was a favorite for years. So a good yellow cake with chocolate icing is very nostalgic for me and this one really hits the spot. It is also a very easy cake recipe with normal ingredients that are easily found in stores.

The cinnamon is an ingredient that I do not normally expect to find in a yellow cake so that was interesting to add. I could taste that flavor and it was not overpowering. I would like to try the recipe yet another time with no cinnamon to see if that alters the flavor. Would the cake still work without the cinnamon or is it necessary? Maybe I'll make it again next year and find out. This cake is delicious and worth making at least once a year.


Timing: Recipe States: does not say, My Actual Timing: 39 mins. prep, 32 mins. baking, 15 mins. icing and decorating
Servings: Recipe States: 10-12 servings, Servings For My Family: 12 servings
Leftovers: This cake is great the next day.


Family Ratings:
Me: This is delicious, especially when I adjusted the icing from the last time that I made it.
Hubby:
Big Man:
Bear: He said the icing is better than the cake.
Mr. T: He loved every bite and licked his plate.

Will I repeat: Yes.

What will I change: I will use my version of chocolate icing with no cream cheese. I am also interested to try it without the cinnamon sometime. It is an interesting flavor, but I wonder what it would be like if the cinnamon was not included.