St. Patrick's Day Cake

When St. Patrick's Day comes around, there's one thing that comes to mind — the color green! You don't have to have Irish in your blood to celebrate this fun day and we are big fans of the holiday. There are plenty of green foods that you can serve for the occasion, but a lot of them are vegetables. And while veggies are good, sweet treats are more fun. Recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating came up with this tasty St. Patricks Day cake that includes 3 layers of chocolate cake and homemade green frosting in-between each layer. "It's a classic chocolate sponge cake with vanilla frosting," Brookes shares.

There are several things to love about this festive treat and Brookes does a great job of explaining her favorite parts. "I love the fun vibrant green color of the frosting. This cake is definitely fit for a St Patrick's Day celebration and will be a real crowd pleaser with the classic flavors of chocolate and vanilla," she says. 

This recipe requires quite a few items that you commonly use in baking, so be sure to check for things that you may have at home already. For starters, you'll need some butter and sugar. When you head to the store, you'll also need to get a few large eggs and some self-rising flour. Next, pick up cocoa powder and some baking powder. You'll also need milk and powdered sugar. Then, grab some vanilla extract and green food coloring. Last but not least, you'll need dark chocolate chips.

Once you have all those items, you may begin.

Since you'll be baking this cake, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 F. That way, the oven has time to get nice and hot while you prep the cake. For this recipe, you will need 3, 8-inch round pans. Grease and line them to prevent the cake from sticking.

In a mixing bowl, add one ⅓ cup butter and the sugar. Then, add in the eggs, flour, and baking powder. Next, add the cocoa powder and 4 tablespoons milk. Use an electric hand whisk to mix these ingredients well.

Now the batter should be good to go! Wasn't that easy? Simply distribute the mixture evenly between the 3 cake pans. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to smooth the batter into an even layer.

Go ahead and pop the cakes into the oven and set your timer for 25 minutes. Check to see if the cakes are done by poking a skewer in the center. If the skewer comes out clean, that means it's ready to come out. If there is still batter on the skewer, leave the cakes in for a bit longer.

When you take the cakes out of the oven, leave them in their pans. Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pans and transferring them to a wire rack to cool. Be sure that they have completely cooled before adding the frosting. If you add the frosting too soon, it will melt and become a big mess.

While you wait for the cakes to cool, start making the frosting. Add the remaining butter and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand whisk and mix until the butter is smooth and creamy.

Once you mix the butter and vanilla extract, you can start to incorporate the powdered sugar. Just sift in about ½ cup at a time, and make sure to whisk after each addition. Once the mixture starts to thicken, add a little bit of the remaining milk, alternating between that and the powdered sugar. Once you have added everything, beat for another minute — until the frosting gets super smooth.

Finally, add the green food coloring and mix to combine. You can add a little or a lot, depending on the brand of food coloring and how dark you want the frosting. 

Now, it's time to assemble the cake. Place the first cooled cake layer on a plate and spread a little less than ⅓ of the frosting on top in an even layer. Add the next layer of cake on top of the frosting and repeat the same steps, frosting the top and adding your last layer and some frosting. 

Using the remaining frosting, pipe small swirls around the edges of the cake. Now, it's starting to look really good. The last thing you will need to do is sprinkle dark chocolate chips on top of the cake.

There's no doubt that this step is the best step because it means you finally get to taste the cake. This cake is excellent on its own, but you can jazz it up by adding a scoop of ice cream. Brookes recommends serving it "with ice cream, cream, custard, chocolate sauce, or fresh berries." 

And if you happen to have leftovers, Brookes says they should keep for 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.