BUTTERCREAM 4TH OF JULY CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out any excess.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the boiling water, cocoa powder, and instant coffee granules until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla.
• In a second medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars and beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium until fully incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and cocoa powder mixtures in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (The batter may look curdled.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove the wax or parchment paper, and let it cool completely. DO AHEAD: The unfrosted cake, can be cooled, wrapped securely in plastic wrap, and stored at room temperature up to 24 hours, before assembling and serving.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat until creamy and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the sifted confectioners' sugar in three batches, mixing until fully incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
• Frost the top and sides of the cake with 2 1/2 cups of the frosting. Transfer the remaining frosting to a pastry bag fitted with the star tip.
• Using a toothpick or small knife, outline a 4 1/2-inch-long by 3 1/2-inch-wide rectangle in the top left corner of the cake. This area will be reserved for blueberries.
• Starting with the longer side of the cake that is closest to you, pipe a line of frosting along the top edge of the cake then arrange two horizontal rows of raspberries directly above the line of frosting. Pipe a second line of frosting above the raspberries and arrange two more horizontal rows of raspberries directly above the frosting. Repeat this process two more times, making sure to exclude the top left corner that is reserved for the blueberries. Arrange the blueberries in horizontal rows in the top left corner of the cake.
• Slice and serve the cake immediately or store it, covered securely in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Steps:

• In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy.
• Add one egg at a time beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla and mix.
• Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl.
• Add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture with a large metal spoon.
• Divide batter into three 8 inch (18 cm) round cake pans lined with parchment paper and buttered.
• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius or 356 Fahrenheit for about 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
• let cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning the out to cool completely onto a wire rack.
• Once cooled, refrigerate your cakes wrapped in plastic wrap until ready to frost.
• In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream butter for about 5 minutes until soft and paler.
• Add half of the sugar and beat until combined for about 2-4 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar and beat again for about 2-4 minutes until combined.
• Add vanilla and milk and beat to achieve desired frosting  consistency.
• Reserve 2 cups of the frosting for the swirls.
• Add a layer of cake to a 8-inch cake board.
• *** If using an acrylic plate add that to your turntable underneath the cake board and secure with masking tape.
• Add about 1/2 cup of frosting tot he cake layer and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
• Add a second cake layer on top and more frosting.
• Finish the cake with a third layer, flattest side up.
• Crumb coat the outside of your cake, using an offset spatula and a bench scraper to smooth out the sides.
• Place cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes before adding next frosting layer.
• take cake out of freezer after 10 minutes and place it on the turntable.
• *** If using acrylic disks, stick a layer of parchment paper onto the disk with masking tape and add your second disc on top of the cake and press, making sure the top acrylic cake centered and level.
• Frost the cake with a generous amount of buttercream to cover all sides.
• Using a bench scraper, smooth out the side s of the cake.
• ***If using acrylic discs, freeze your cake for another 30 minutes before removing the discs and parchment with a sharp knife.
• Touch up the top of your cake if needed with more frosting and smooth it out with a bench scraper.
• Add sprinkles to the bottom sides of the cake and freeze again for another 10 minutes.
• Melt the candy in the microwave at 30 second intervals and let it cool down to room temperature.
• Add the blue candy drip to the top and side edges of the cake. Smooth top with a spatula.
• Add streaks of red and blue gel food coloring to the inside of a piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle like Wilton 1M, then fill it with the reserved 2 cups of frosting.
• Add swirls to the top of your cake, then finish with a gumball on top.