My Third Pretty Cake: Roses and Sweet Peas

This was the final week of Course 1, tear, but don't fret, I've already signed up for Course 2 which begins February 11th! This week we learned how to make Wilton roses and sweet peas, along with bows, leaves and vines. I am pleased to say, I think this was my best cake yet! I decided to make a yellow cake from scratch and filled it with the same cream cheese frosting I used last week with the red velvet because I had a ton left over in a Tupperware in the fridge and it was just so darn tempting that I kept digging into it at random times during the week, so I needed to use it up so I would stop eating it all. The cake I am sad to report was not as moist and delicious as I thought it would be. I was really disappointed. I mean it still tasted good, but not as good as let's say Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden is. I got the recipe from Smittenkitchen.com. Here it is:

Yellow Cake From Scratch (from smittenkitchen.com)
Ingredients:
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken (I used my trick from last week, 2 TBSP lemon juice and just under 2 cups skim milk)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.) I sprayed mine with Pam for Baking and didn't use the parchment.
 
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour. Then frost.

And now the good stuff! Enjoy!