Spring Treats #8: Green Velvet Cake

I think I go a little bit overboard on holidays.

For a while I kept thinking to myself, "wow, there are like six holidays in a row that are my favorite ones." But now I just think I like holidays a little too much. Every holiday. I don't discriminate.  

I had to make a dessert. A fancy one to impress some people we were having over for dinner (not that I do that of course). I saw this green velvet cheesecake cake on Recipe Girl, and since I was short on time, I decided to just omit the cheesecake part (sad day) and make the cake, because it looked equally delicious. 

And it turned out wonderfully. The recipe is relatively simple, and the cakes rose in the oven and turned a very festive, bright, turn-your-insides-green green.  

The frosting is a marshmallow cream cheese frosting that's sticky and thick, and about 1000 calories per bite. Happy St. Patrick's day to your stomach, maybe not so much to your hips.

I found these awesome sugar shamrock decals at the Peppermint Place in Alpine, and loved what they added to the cake. They made my tacky decorating job look a little bit more put together.

No matter what you're doing for St. Patrick's Day, you should probs make this cake. Just sayin'. 

Green Velvet Cake
adapted from Recipe Girl
For the cake:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups canola or veg. oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermillk
2 tbsp. (1, 1 oz. bottle) green food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9 inch pans with cooking spray, and cut out parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans. 
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside. 
In a large bowl or the bowl of your electric mixture, combine oil and sugar and beat on medium high speed until well combined. Add in eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, beating well after each addition. 
In a small bowl combine the vinegar and baking soda, stirring to dissolve the baking soda. Add the mixture to the rest of the wet ingredients, then add the buttermilk and food coloring.
Mix all the wet ingredients on low speed for 1-2 minutes, until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients slowly, and beat on medium-low speed until all the ingredients are combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely.


For the frosting:
2 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese, room temp.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp.
1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2- 2 cups powdered sugar


In a large bowl, or the bowl of your electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the marshmallow creme and beat again, until well combined.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, beating well and adding as much as you want to reach your desired thickness and consistency (I used about 2 cups).


Place one cake layer on a cake plate or platter, and frost just the top of the cake. Add another layer and frost the top, then the sides of both layers.
Decorate as desired, and enjoy!