A Birthday that came and went

White Cake with cream cheese frosting and fondant

Sometimes you plan a day months in advance and all plan fails on the D-day. My Birthday was one such day. I had been planning the day, the things to cook, a lavish cake  and what not. But as it happened , the week long whitewash was scheduled the same week as my birthday. So all plans were put on hold.  I had forbidden my husband not to buy a cake for me as I wanted to bake my cake myself.  My sister had got fondant and other baking equipments during her last visit, and I had saved it for using them on a special occasion. Earlier, I had planned to make it on the birthday eve, but didn't get any time that day. Finally when I could make it , it was already 9:30 night on the d-day. I put the cake in oven,  and had the delicious Biryani made by  Mr. Sinfoodie and saved the decoration for post dinner. We were both so tired and it was already too late, that I let go of all the intricate design I had thought of. It was my first time dealing with fondant. Mr. Sinfoodie helped rolling out  and cutting the fondant. The cake was finally made, though by the time it was made, it was already midnight. Anyway,it doesn't matter :) I didn't mind celebrating it a day late as long as it was made by me. :-D

The cake was a white cake with 2 layers filled with creamcheese and white chocolate frosting and covered with fondant. The recipe has been adapted from joy of baking

Ingredients

For cake

2 large eggs separated

1 3/4 cups cake flour [ i used all purpose]

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar [I substituted it with white vinegar]

For Cream Chees and white Chocolate Frosting

Recipe is here on my blog -> Cream cheese and White chocolate Frosting

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F/177C and place rack in center of oven.
2. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and grease and dust the parchment paper with little flour. 
3. Separate the eggs while they are still cool. It is easier to separate cold eggs.
4. Placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl.  Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and let them come to room temperature, for atleast 30 minutes. 
5. In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
6. In a separate bowl, beat butter until soft with your electric mixture (about 1-2 minutes).
7. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). 
8. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. 
9. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.   
10. In a clean grease free bowl , beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar[ I substituted with vinegar] and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
11.  With a rubber spatula gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and fold in the remaining whites until combined. Do not over mix the batter or it will deflate. 
12. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. 
13. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for at least an hour. (This makes filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Assembling the Cake.

1.  Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with cream cheese frosting.  
2.  Place the next cake layer, top of the cake facing down, onto the filling. Spread the remaining frosting over the top Cover and refrigerate for some time.
3. Color,knead and roll the fondant. Cover the cake with fondant and decorate it as per your choice.
4. In case you are refrigerating the cake before serving, keep it at room temperature for some time after taking it out from refrigerator