Easy White Cake

I made this cake for my grandma's 70th birthday party and it was a big hit. This cake is easy and involves so little that its perfect for the lazy and forgetful who need a quick sugar fix. This is the first cake on which I used gel food coloring and since then I don't use anything else. The gel not only makes colors vibrant but it actually makes the reds red as opposed to pink. This "recipe" is one that I made up and is the only one that involves a boxed cake mix because personally using boxed mixes always feels like cheating but I was out of time and left with no alternative.

CAKE:

Ingredients:

-1 super moist white cake mix

-about 1-1 1/2 Tbsp. almond extract

Directions:

Prepare cake batter as directed on back of mix box but before pouring into greased pans add enough almond extract as desired (I added enough so that I could slightly smell it in the batter). Continue baking and cooling as directed on the box (like I said this is as easy as it gets). 

BUTTERCREAM:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter (room temp)

-2 lbs powdered sugar

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 tsp. almond extract

-1/4 cup milk

-gel food coloring

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle cream the butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the vanilla, almond and powdered sugar until combined then add the milk turning the mixer on high until thick and smooth.  Color with food coloring as desired. Spread/decorate on the cake as you so desire.