so this confetti cake was a very happy accident. i was trying to make a beautiful layer cake from my momofoku milk bar cookbook until i set the pan down too hard and the cake crumbled. sigh. face palm. so i thought wwpd. what would phyllis (my grandma) do. she would make lemonade from lemons…. or a trifle.
i used to work in her restaurant in jamestown and she was constantly whipping up these amazing beautiful glass dish beauties. so i made it into a trifle. oh what a happy accident.
this recipe has three parts
cookie crumbs (yes you bake cookie crumbs)
confetti cake
frosting (x2)
ingredients:
cookie crumbs:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp packed light brown sugar
3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 tbsp CLEAR vanilla extract ( look hard on the shelves it’s there)
for the confetti cake
4 tbsp butter at room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tbsp light brown sugar tightly packed
3 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
additional tsp of vanilla (for brushing)
1/4 cup of milk (for brushing)
frosting
16 (2 sticks of butter) (room temp)
1/2 cup shortening (room temp)
4oz cream cheese (room temp)
5 tbsp corn syrup (light)
1 tbsp clear vanilla extract
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
pinch of baking powder
to make the confetti cake:
heat the oven to 350
combine the butter shortening and sugars in a mixer with paddle attachment and beat on med high for 3 minutes (seriously set a timer it’s longer than you think). scrape the bowl and add eggs mix another 3 minutes.
on low speed slowly add the buttermilk oil and vanilla increase speed for 5 minutes until the mix is almost white and fluffy. do this nice and slow. make sure there is no streaks and its completely blended.
on a low speed add the cake flour, baking powder, salt and rainbow sprinkles for about 1 minute until just combined. scrape bowl
spay or butter a jelly roll pan and line it with parchment paper. spread the cake batter evenly into the pan and sprinkle extra sprinkles over the cake. bake for 33 minutes until just browning around the edges and if you stick a toothpick in the middle it comes out clean.
let cool completely
get out your pastry brush and mix together the milk and vanilla baste the cooled cake with the milk spread.
To make the cookie crumbs:
heat oven to 300
combine all the dry ingredients on low speed mixer with paddle attachment
slowly add wet ingredients
beat until combined and crumbly, should eventually break into small clusters. i also broke it up some with my hands
toss onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet
bake for 20 minutes and let them cool completely.
frosting:
combine the butter, shortening and cream cheese in the mixer with the paddle attachment and cream together for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
with the mixer on slow speed slowly add the corn syrup and vanilla. speed up to med high speed and beat for about 3 minutes
add the sugar salt and baking powder and mix on slow speed until just mixed. you should have bright white frosting and it’s delicious. in the couple of times that i have made this frosting i have had to adjust a few times (if its too dry add a little water or milk, too wet add more powdered sugar).
to assemble the confetti cake trifle
find a clear bowl or use a standard trifle bowl.
cut the cake into cubes once completely dry
add the frosting to a piping bag (if you do not have a piping bag put into a zip lock bag with a corner cut out)
line bottom of the bowl with a layer of cake cubes.
layer cookie crumbs
layer with frosing
continue layers until you finish with cookie crumbs and can pipe frosting around the edge.
serve and enjoy! (can be made a day in advance)
