Vanilla Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I love to bake, but there is one thing I am terrified to do. And that is to bake a cake... from scratch. We all know that cake mixes are pretty darn good and all but homemade cake is sooo much better. That is if it comes out right. I have tried and tried to make a good cake (these attempts were mostly during my pre-blog days, but there were a few that have happened more recently) and I always failed. Maybe it was because I went in thinking I was going to fail? Is baking like golf... 90% mental and 10% skill? Hmm. It's a possibility. At least in my case. Because this time, I went in to the kitchen knowing I was going to make THE best birthday cake I possibility could. You see, it was Brittany's 23rd birthday and she deserved a cake. So Nikki and I put it upon ourselves to make her a darn good cake! And we did. It was delicious - perfectly moist. AND the buttercream is to die for. It tastes like real bakery frosting... extra sugary and buttery. Yum! We did our best to decorate the cake. It was the first time I had ever decorated a cake... in my pre-blog days I would just slap some canned frosting on that sucker to hide the imperfections. But this time, I went all out,  pastry tips and all. I like it. It's a start!

Okay, confession. I can't remember what recipe I used to make this cake. I am seriously kicking myself right now. It was so good. As soon as I remember where I found it I will post it. In the meantime the buttercream recipe is below.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
20 tbsp (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Put butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for 20 seconds, or until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed until the sugar is moist, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spoon or spatula if necessary. Beat on medium-low for another 15 seconds until the sugar is fully incorporated with the butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and add heavy cream and vanilla. Beat until the wet ingredients are combined. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Scrape down the bowl a few times during that process to make sure you aren't ignoring any frosting.

Source: Buttercream recipe from Annie's Eats