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Simple Vanilla Cupcakes and My First Blogiversary!

06.09.13

Simple Vanilla Cupcakes

Is it June already? These past couple of months have gone by way too fast. So much has happened in Cake Merchant Land. I got engaged, adopted a puppy, bought a house, and moved! Needless to say, things have been a little crazy around here. My first blogiversary has come and gone. It was actually May 20th, but I still wanted to do a belated blogiversary post and share some of the things that I have learned this year.

Vanilla Cupcakes

First, I have to say how much I love blogging. It has been such a fun creative outlet for me, and I’m convinced that nothing relieves stress like a freshly made batch of cupcakes. Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading and for all of your supportive comments. Your thoughts and opinions mean a lot to me. My goal for the second year of blogging is incorprate more healthy dessert recipes into the mix, since several readers have asked for it. I think it will not only be good for the blog, but for my waistline as well.

Simple Vanilla Cupcakes

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’m slightly terrified of vanilla cake. I find it to be rather unforgiving, and after a few vanilla cake fails in my early baking days, I pretty much stopped making them from scratch. One of my blogging goals was to find a great vanilla cake recipe without using a mix. What I found was that is was not only the ingredients that made a good recipe, but the mixing method as well.

There are a few things that have changed the way that I make (and view) vanilla cake. The first is The Cake Bible. In fact, this book has pretty much changed the way I bake altogether. If you’re new to baking, or even a seasoned baker, I would recommend getting your hands on it and reading it cover to cover. The Cake Bible introduced me to a method of mixing called the reverse creaming method. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar together first, the fat (butter or shortening) is beaten with the dry ingredients along with part of the liquid. The remainder of the liquid is then beaten into the mixture in installments, which results in a lighter crumb.

Simple Vanilla Cupcakes

So the question is, can you reverse cream any recipe? That’s what I wanted to find out. I took a traditional vanilla cake recipe (from Sprinkles cupcakes) that I used all the time, and just changed the order of how I mixed the ingredients. Did it work? Yes and no. There are a few keys to success that apply to all cakes and cupcakes, but especially when using this method.

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31 Comments · Cupcakes

Yellow Birthday (or other celebration) Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

05.08.13

Yellow Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Hi friends! It’s been too long since I’ve been able to post here. I have lots to share with you, including a recipe as well as a few “real life” things. The biggest thing that has kept me away from the blog has been a move- into a house! Yes, I bought a house! I can’t actually find a lot of my baking equipment, my internet is having all kinds of problems, but I have a house!

Also, I got engaged! This was probably the most unexpected, because I have the sneakiest fiancé on the planet, and I had no clue. Aaron and I met almost four years ago while we were both training for a 5k. Over the years, we have done several 5ks, some 10ks, and a few half marathons. Running has been a big part of our lives, so it was really fitting when Aaron proposed to me while I was running with a friend at White Rock Lake in Dallas. I thought it was just an ordinary Sunday morning run, so imagine my surprise when I saw Aaron waiting there for me a mile into the run, with flowers and a ring!

Engagement

As last but not least, we have a new addition to the family. No, no babies. But we did adopt a dog. His name is Bigsby, and he is the sweetest pup on the planet! I’ve wanted a dog ever since I was a little kid. It only took 31 years, but it finally happened. Welcome to the family, Bigsby!

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19 Comments · Cake

Little Chocolate Layer Cake with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

04.17.13

Nutella Layer Cake

Today, I’m excited to be joining some of my favorite food bloggers to throw a virtual housewarming party for fellow food blogger Ashton. Ashton is the blogger behind Something Swanky, and while I follow her blog regularly, I’ve never met her in person. However, I know that Ashton and I share a love for Nutella, so I wanted to “bring” a chocolate layer cake with Nutella frosting.

Nutella Layer Cake

I wanted an intense chocolate cake to go along with the light and creamy Nutella frosting, so I chose David Lebovitz’s Devil’s Food Cake recipe. The original recipe makes a double layer 9-inch cake, but I halved to it to make a little 5-inch cake.

Nutella Layer Cake

I also split each layer in half to make a 4-layer cake so that I could have a higher frosting to cake ratio. Let’s face it, more frosting is always better, especially if that frosting tastes like Nutella.

Nutella Layer Cake

A 5-inch cake makes baby slices, but really, I have no shame in diving right into a cake this size with a fork. Or face first. Who can find utensils when you’re moving, anyway?

Nutella Layer Cake

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72 Comments · Cake

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About Me

Welcome to the Cake Merchant! I’m Natasha, the cake maker behind this blog. Here, I share my favorite cakes, baking tips, dessert experiments, and the occasional picture of my dog... READ MORE

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