Bake an Elegant Spring Cake: The Fun and Easy Way

I was asked by The J.M. Smucker Company to create a springtime family treat. All opinions are my own.

When my family comes to visit, I’d love to set out an elegant spread of food and refreshments. But with my busy schedule, that’s not always possible. I work full-time as a marketing communications manager, and then I have this blog on top of it. Most of my spare time is spent with family and when the opportunity came for me to see the newest member of my family, I decided to do something a little special. My daughter Bridget was coming over with her little Boo Bear to visit me and I thought it’d be fun to bake an elegant spring cake together.

This elegant spring cake was super easy to make and it was so much fun baking it with my daughter and her wee one!

 

Our elegant spring cake with a rose on top was made from Pillsbury™ Cake Mix! I was shopping at Walmart and stocked up on a few boxes of my favorite cake flavors and frostings. It’s nice to have extras on hand when company visits.

 

I prefer layer cakes over a sheet cake and chose Devil’s Food for my daughter’s visit.

 

Here’s a quick cake-baking tip: Take a bread knife and cut off any uneven parts of the top layer of the cake. You’ll have a pretty, symmetrical cake once you frost it.

 

Did I mention my daughter Bridget is a pastry chef? She loves baking and making an elegant spring cake was a fun activity to do together. And she taught me something new! She heated the frosting just slightly to thin it out, which helped give it that smooth look on the cake. Plus the Pillsbury™ Vanilla Frosting glided on so easily! No sticking to the cake itself and spreading crumbs.

 

Little Boo Bear is too young to eat cake with us, but he seemed to approve of our cake baking efforts. Before you know it, he’ll be in the kitchen with his mother baking cookies and cupcakes. They grow up so fast … so I like to spend as much time with them as I possibly can.

 

We sprinkled some toasted coconut on the cake to add a bit of texture.

 

Rather than add frosting roses, I placed a real rose on the top of the cake. So simple, yet so elegant. I could’ve just as easily opened a package of store-bought cookies for my visit with Bridget and Bear (and yes, that’s his name), but this cake was more special. Plus it was fun to enjoy the moment of baking with my pastry chef daughter.

 

I’m so glad my family lives close by. Everyone is less than an hour away which makes an afternoon visit easy to do. When Bear gets older I know I’ll be attending his school and sporting events. And I know we’ll spend more time mixing up moments in the kitchen, too!

 

This elegant spring cake was super moist and I always love a little coconut!

 

Devil’s Food cake is my favorite! Especially when it’s paired with Vanilla frosting. What’s your favorite flavor cake?

Discover more ways to #MixUpaMoment with cake mixes and be sure to stock up on your own supply of Pillsbury™ Brownie Mixes and Frostings with this handy money-saving coupon!

Next month I’m making Easter Cupcakes with my family and will share our creations with you!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine.