By request, here’s the recipe for Snickerdoodle Cake, taken directly from my new favorite cookbook: The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. The disclaimer, of course, is that you use a cake mix to make it, but I hold no shame in that. When we were first married, I made a few attempts at “from scratch” cakes and they were never that good. Never as good as a cake mix, in my opinion. And now, with this superb cookbook, cake mix cakes are even 100% better. I’ve made two cakes from it and sampled another one that a friend made and all three were absolutely delicious.

Snickerdoodle Cake

• Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans (Do not skip this step. Trust me on this.)
• Flour for dusting the pans (See above)
• 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
• 1 cup whole milk 8 T (1 stick) butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Preheat over to 350, generously grease two 9″ round cake pans with shortening then dust with flour. Shake out the excess and put the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 27 to 29 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting.

Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. place the second layer, right side up on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes.

Place this cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

• 8 T room temperature butter
• 3 3/4 C confectioners’ sugar, sifted 3 to 4 T milk
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1 t ground cinnamon

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the powdered sugar, 3 T milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend with the mixer on low until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 T milk if the frosting seems too stiff.