


The cake is the white butter cake from http://www.joyofbaking.com/WhiteCake.html.
I tweaked the wilton buttercream icing recipe a little. My modified version of the buttercream icing is :
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk
Cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth whenever not in use.
--I used a flower nail to get level cakes as explained in http://cakecentral.com/articles/651/cake-baking-flower-nail-method-tutorial. Nice tip as it avoided formation of the dome in the centre. Hence very little sawing of the cake.
So once again "Happy Birthday" to our dearest mom...!!!
gita