Shirley Temple Cake {7-up Cake with Whipped Cherry Buttercream}

Yesterday I found myself walking to the store and buying a cake mix, a jar of maraschino cherries, and a bottle of Cherry 7-up. I didn't realize what I was doing at first. I knew I was frantic for something to post, but why had the cherry and 7-up combo popped up in my head?

Of course. Shirley Temple.

 

Of course you probably have heard the sad news that our favorite child star of all time passed away yesterday. The news itself didn't shake me too much because of the fact that I didn't even know she was still alive, but I was sad nonetheless. As I reminisced about my childhood days of watching Heidi and The Little Princess, another memory bludgeoned it's way to the front line of my food obsessed mind.

Yes, a Shirley Temple is not only an adorable curly headed little girl, but also my favorite non-alcoholic cocktail in the whole world.

It's just 7-up or Sprite or some kind of lemon-lime pop (don't you dare say the word "soda") mixed with maraschino cherries. It has some grenadine too, but whatever. That could be weird in a cake, methinks. The cherry is the most important part in this recipe.

Ugh. I can't believe how uneven the hearts are in that picture. That's what happens when I try to be artistic. FAIL.



Seriously though, I am redeemed by the awesomeness of the frosting. This frosting is so fluffy and delicious and beautiful. I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.

And um... the cake mix? I know you're confused since that's not usually my style. I'm on still on vacation though which is pretty much an excuse for me to not have to give you excuses. Besides, adding the Cherry 7-up gives it a subtle but awesome flavor and the texture is fabulous. If you want to be really cool though, you could just replace the liquid in any from scratch recipe (I highly recommend this recipe!) with Cherry 7-up or regular 7-up. Let me know how it turns out if you do!

Shirley Temple Cake

•  
• 1 Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic White Cake Mix 
• 1 1/4 cup Cherry 7-up (diet should be fine)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 egg whites
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x13 inch cake pan. Blend all the ingredients for two minutes on medium speed. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake about 32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
• 
  
• Whipped Cherry Buttercream
• 
  
• 4 cups powdered sugar
  1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  1 1/2 sticks cold butter (3/4 cup)
   
• Combine the sugar, juice, and vanilla. Beat until combined. Cut the cold butter into chunks and add a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat for 3 minutes on high speed until all the butter is incorporated and frosting is fluffy.
• 
  
• Frost cake and garnish with whipped cream and maraschino cherries.

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