the "not-birthday-cake" birthday cake.

it happened again around here.
we had another birthday to celebrate.

you know that age old saying "sugar doesn't affect kids - especially mine" - well they have never spent time with kids after they have had the little known drug called sugar.

they get w i l d.
especially when there are more than two cheering the others on.

so when i realized i was going to have these kids for a little longer than the 10 minutes usually after icing-sugar laced birthday cake is ingested {wonder why the cake is the last thing eaten?? unless you are outside with a wide wide wide space to run and burn it all off?} i put on my thinking cap and came up with an alternative.

it's like a coffee cake. it's like a muffin. yes there is a sprinkling of chocolate chips inside to give it a sense of occasion. and since i don't like to order my kids with a side of crazy, it worked like a charm.

not-birthday-cake birthday cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
3/4 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
1 egg - room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk - room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips - depending on the level of crazy you can handle.
1 tsp cinnamon

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. butter a 8x8 glass or tin baking dish. set aside.

with the mixer on medium beat together the butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. add egg; scrape down side as it gets incorporated. add vanilla; mix till all together.

meanwhile whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

in a small bowl mix together the remaining sugar with the cinnamon. set aside.

add flour mix to butter mix alternating with the buttermilk. mix until just incorporated.

spread half the mix into the bottom of the prepared pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar and with all the chocolate chips. spread the second half of the mix gently over top and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. place in oven for 35 to 45 minutes - till golden brown and set in the middle. let cool on a wire rack till it's slightly warm or at room temperature. drizzle with icing and serve!

icing:

1 tablespoon of milk
1/2 cup to one cup of icing sugar.

place 1/2 cup icing sugar in a bowl and add milk. stir. if too thin add some more icing sugar little by little till desired consistency is achieved.