do you all wish you could come to chicago now? this is the cake we ate with benji's family this week. we're not big cake eaters in this house, but this is one that made me reevaluate my feelings for them (them being cakes, not benji's family) . . .
i'll post the recipe the way nate and i first tried it (another annalisa special), but i'll post the way i made it for ben and sue's family too. once i saw how much butter was in this thing i decided to extend my life a few years and cut most of it out. but if you're ever willing to try the full butter, it was seriously so good. and the raspberry flowers? you can thank michelle for her genius idea there.
Cake: (i halved this recipe and it still filled a 9x13 pan)
18 TBSP (2 1/4 sticks) Unsalted Butter, @ room temperature
3 Cups Sugar
6 Large Eggs, @ room temperature
1 Cup Sour Cream, @ room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Cornstarch
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
Icing:
1 pound (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter, @ room temperature (i used 1 stick)
1 1/2 pounds Cream Cheese (3 8 oz. packs), @ room temperature (i used 1 8-0z pack)
1 pound Confectioners' Sugar, sifted (i just added pwd. sugar til it was the consistency i wanted)
1 1/2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract (i never measure vanilla)
2 Half-Pints Blueberries (or any other fruit you want)
4 Half-Pints Raspberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 18 x 12 x 1 1/2 inch sheet cake pan. (i used a regular pan, not a sheet cake pan)
Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light an fluffy. On medium speed, add eggs, 2 @ a time, then add sour cream and vanilla. Make sure to scrape down sides of bowl and mix until smooth.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the greased cake pan and smooth with spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool @ room temperature.
For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix until smooth (because of all the butter, this is a pretty runny icing. you will want to refrigerate your cake after it is decorated).
Spread half of the icing on top of the cooled sheet cake. Decorate with any design of fruit or other decorations. Pipe the remaining frosting around the edges or to make another design.
and here's the picture of the one we did on the 4th of July this year
Here is a view of the whole cake, and an individual piece. 
Sister Pulsipher made this gooey pineapple cake for one of our senior- couple potlucks, and it is very easy to make. 
