Easy Butter Cake with Cocoa Icing

It's fitting that my first post would fall on my son's 3rd birthday.  I wanted to bake him a cake.  Something to celebrate the occasion, but something that wasn't too big since we were throwing him a birthday party on the weekend.  Since it was a Tuesday, I thought I'd make a simple one layer cake.  It would be quick to whip up on a school night and small enough for us to finish eating before the party.

The recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks: Piece of Cake! by Camilla V. Saulsbury.  The recipes in the book all are one-bowl, no-fuss, cakes made from scratch.

The butter cake is moist and great even without the icing.  The cocoa icing was easy to make.  You don't even need a mixer, just a whisk.  I found it to be a tad too sweet, though.  Next time, I might cut the icing sugar a little bit.

My son really liked it.  But then again, he likes anything with chocolate!

Easy Butter Cake with Cocoa Icing

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Grease and flour one 9-inch round metal baking pan.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

4.  Add egg, milk, butter and vanilla to flour mixture.  Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula.  Beat on medium speed for 1 minute.

5.  Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

6.  Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto rack to cool completely.  Spread icing over top of cooled cake.

Cocoa Icing
Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup boiling water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1.  In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, boiling water and butter until butter is melted and mixture is smooth.

2.  Stir in confectioners'' sugar and vanilla until blended and smooth.  Use immediately.