a naked cake

On Sunday, my family came up for a quick visit to celebrate my sister's birthday. It was a beautiful sunny, breezy day so we decided some al fresco dining was in order. We had lunch at Clearfork Food Park, ordering from The Q {a BBQ food truck}, Salsa Limon, Shortcakes, and Good Karma Kitchen. Afterward, we did a little Fort Worth shopping before heading home for some birthday cake. I harnessed some Pinterest inspiration and baked my sister an adorable {if I do say so myself} "naked" cake topped with bunting. Naked cakes do not have frosting on the sides so each layer is clearly visible. I think it is such a charming and rustic way to make a cake!

To make this cake, all you need is:

• 1 box cake mix (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix)
• 6" round cake pan {mine is Wilton's brand from Michael's. I only had one, but two would be best}
• Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting, recipe via Real Simple (I recommend cutting the recipe down to 2/3 since you won't be frosting the sides. I did 3/4 and had a lot left over still.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare cake mix as directed on the box. Spread mix evenly between two 6" round cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, checking the center with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, you're done!
2. Let cakes cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare chocolate frosting according to directions. Warning: You may be tempted to eat frosting by the spoonful right out of the bowl. This frosting is seriously the best one I have ever made.
3. When cakes are cool, slice each in half horizontally so that you have 4 equally sized cakes.
4. Place one cake on a plate and spoon desired amount of frosting on top, about two big spoonfuls. Spread all the way out to the edges--you'll want the frosting to be clearly visible once the other layers are added!
5. Continue with other 3 layers and top with more frosting. Voila--an easy, delicious, and adorable cake.

What did you do this weekend?

xo.