![\"spice-cake](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/spice-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting-and-cookie-crumbs.jpg\")
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Getting creative with a basic vanilla cake recipe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Every birthday should be celebrated with a cake, if possible. And while you can't go wrong with the classic vanilla cake with milk chocolate frosting<\/a>, sometimes it's nice to switch it up. You can take your favourite vanilla cake and get creative with it through some thoughtful baking substitutions<\/a> and also some careful additions. Here are a few ways to jazz up your favourite vanilla cake recipe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can pair this spice layer cake with either a classic thick cream cheese frosting<\/a> or this white chocolate cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar<\/a>. I chose the latter for this recipe, but either will work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I baked this 3-layer cake in one single, very tall cake pan (the only 6-inch pan that I owned at the time), and it took a full hour to bake, and in my opinion, could have even used a few minutes extra in the oven. Though you can easily bake a layer cake in one single layer that you will split after it cools, the baking time is so much longer and there is a greater risk that you end up slightly underbaking the cake, which may result in some gumminess at the bottom or even cake collapse<\/a>. For this reason, I highly recommend that you bake this cake in three<\/span><\/b> separate 6-inch cake pans (not one!) and if you only have one, then I suggest you bake the batter in stages, one-third at a time. The baking will be more even, and it will be much easier for you to judge doneness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the time to prepare the cake pans before baking<\/a>, by buttering the pans, lining the bottom with parchment, and dusting the sides with flour. This way your cakes will slide right out of the pan, without any resistance. And also take the time to use a few techniques to check if your cake is done baking<\/a> so you don't have any surprises when you level and stack the cakes later.<\/p>\n\n\n Since I am still on a quest for a cream cheese frosting that is thick while using less icing sugar, I tried out a new-to-me recipe from Rose Levy Barenbaum's Cake Bible (Amazon<\/a>). What is interesting about this recipe is that it is sweetened with white chocolate, and not icing sugar, so there is little to no chance of the cream cheese liquifying on you. I must admit that this recipe is a little challenging for a couple of reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helpful tip<\/b>: add the melted white chocolate in stages, being sure to get it right onto the room-temperature cream cheese, and not down the sides of the cold metal mixer bowl because it will splatter\/harden. If you lose some to the beater or if you end up with a couple of nuggets of white chocolate, it's okay, people: it's white chocolate! And so, if that happens, let's just call it white chocolate chip cream cheese frosting, okay?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are not comfortable working with chocolate and combining melted chocolate with other ingredients, I suggest making this thick cream cheese frosting<\/a> instead, which is much easier to mix and thickened with powdered sugar<\/p>\n\n\n If you are looking for a \"regular\" cream cheese frosting made with icing sugar and without white chocolate, you can try this formula for thick cream cheese frosting<\/a> which I used to top these apple cupcakes<\/a>. It's also the frosting I used on this chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting<\/a>, so you can see it works great for layer cakes! Both of these frostings would make an excellent topping on these carrot cake bars<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n I'm always looking for creative ways to decorate a cake if you aren't a professional cake decorated. I decided to decorate this birthday cake with honey Teddy Grahams. Animal crackers would also work. And the top of the cake is decorated with a stencil<\/a> of the birthday number made with number cutouts and a generous scattering of graham cracker crumbs. Easy! Another great way would be to decorate the top of the birthday cake with candy<\/a> and fun treats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"spice](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/spice-cake-ingredients.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSubstitutions and Variations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Baking a three-layer cake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"spice](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/spice-cake.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMaking thick cream cheese with white chocolate instead of icing sugar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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![\"cream](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cream-cheese-frosting-ingredients.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"spice](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/spice-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"sliced](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/sliced-spice-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHow to store this cake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"sliced](\"https:\/\/bakeschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/sliced-spice-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting-360x360.jpg\")
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