Celebration Cake

Celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and much more with the Swans Down Celebration Cake. Also known as the Happy Day Cake, it’s a simple sheet cake recipe that’s easy to make and perfect for any gathering. Get creative with frostings, sprinkles and decorations to dress this classic cake up for any occasion. This recipe can also be used for cupcakes!

Ingredients

CAKE

  • 2 ½ cups Sifted Swans Down® Cake Flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • Sprinkles, for topping

FROSTING

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups  powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and lightly flour 2 (9×13-inch) rectangular layer pans.
  2. Make Cake: Sift flour once; measure and add baking powder, salt and sugar and sift once more.
  3. Mix softened butter, flour mixture, 3/4 of the milk and vanilla at low speed for 2 minutes.
  4. Add eggs and remaining milk and beat 1 minute more.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
  6. Make Frosting: Cream butter and 2 cups powdered sugar in small bowl. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate.
  7. Add remaining powdered sugar gradually, beating well after each addition.
  8. Thin with milk to reach desired consistency; fill layers with frosting or your favorite preserve and frost cake and top with festive sprinkles if desired.
More Recipes

View Comments

  • I came across this cake in a WWII Swans Down Cake Flour cook book about Cooking by the Ration Book. It was a very interesting read. My question is about another recipe in this cook book called the Measure-For-Measure Cake. Here it is: M E A S U R E - F O R - M E A S U R E CAKE
    2, 3, 4 or 5 eggs
    Sifted Swans Down Cake Flour (same measure as eggs)
    Sugar (same measure as eggs)
    A dash of salt for each egg
    Vz teaspoon cream of tartar for each egg
    % teaspoon grated lemon rind or vanilla for each egg
    Remove eggs f r om r e f r i g e r a t o r several hours before using. Break
    into a glass number of eggs desired. Into another glass measure
    an equal amount of sifted flour and sift four times. Measure
    equal amount of sugar. Place eggs in mixing bowl, add salt,
    cream of t a r t a r , flavoring, and about % of sugar. Beat with rot
    a r y egg beater, adding rest of sugar gradually. Beat until light
    colored and very thick as mixture falls from beater. (Beat at
    least 1 full minute per egg.) Add flour all at once and stir in
    quickly and thoroughly. Turn into pan* greased on bottom only,
    lined with waxed paper to 1 inch of edge, and greased lightly
    again. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 20 to 30 minutes.
    *For 2-egg c a k e . . .8x8x2-inch pan
    3-egg c a k e . . ,9x9x2-inch pan
    4-egg c a k e . . 10xl0x2-inch pan (or two 8-inch layers)
    5-egg cake. .13x9x2-inch pan (or two 9-inch layers)

    My question is about how to make this cake. Do I literally take say, three eggs, crack and put them in a glass and then get another glass and put the same height of flour or sugar? It just reads a little strange. Thank you!

    • Hi Jim! Thank you for sharing this relic! We have a great array of vintage and historical recipes :) Sometimes the methods in these recipes are just as colorful as the art! We haven't seen made this particular recipe before, but can do some searching/Testing on it. Thanks for sharing and for your interest!

  • Found this recipe in an old cookbook about back of box recipes. It called for shortening in the recipe and two 9inch layers. I found it to be dry and lacking flavor. Might try again with butter

    • Hi Carolyn, The Celebration Cake recipe should yield approximately 20 standard size cupcakes. Happy baking!

  • Can I add chopped pecans and or blueberries or raspberries or chopped strawberries to the cake batter?

    • Hi Josie, You can fold about 1 cup into the batter. Just make sure that if the fruit has juice that you drain them well or offset the liquid in the recipe. Happy baking!

    • Hi Debra, Great question! You can use 3 - 9 inch for the Celebration Cake, pans but your layers will be thin. And you will have to reduce the bake time. You may do better using only 2 if you'd prefer taller layers. Be careful not to fill the pans more than 2/3 of the way full though. Happy baking!

  • This was a favorite cake while we were growing up%. My Mom used a 7 minute frosting with coconut on it. Do you have recipe for 7 minute frosting..?.

Leave a Comment