Kite Birthday Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
• FROSTING:
• 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cake flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pink, yellow, purple and blue gel or paste food coloring

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk and bananas.
• Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto rack to cool completely. Transfer cake to a large platter or covered board. (15-in. x 12-in.).
• In a saucepan, combine cake flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture; beat until sugar is dissolved and frosting is fluffy.
• Place 2 tablespoons frosting each in three bowls; tint one pink, one yellow and one purple. Place 3/4 cup frosting in a bowl; tint blue. Frost top of cake blue and sides white. Form three clouds with some of the white frosting (see photo); set remaining white frosting aside.
• With the point of a toothpick draw two small kites and two large kites on the blue frosting (see photo). Fill in kites with some of the purple, pink and yellow frosting.
• Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert round tip #3 (or pipe directly from bag). Fill bag with remaining purple frosting; pipe kite strings on the two small kites. Repeat with yellow and pink frosting on medium kites. Pipe colored bows on the top of kite strings.
• Cut a small hole in the corner of another pastry or plastic bag; insert round tip #3. Fill bag with remaining white frosting; pipe crossbars and an outline around each kite. Using round tip #7, pipe a border around top edge of cake. Yield: 12 servings.
  
  Editor's Note: Use of a coupler ring will allow you to easily change tips for different designs.

Download the pattern for Kite Birthday Cake

Kite Birthday Cake published in Country Woman March/April 2000, p49