I want to surprise my family by attempting to make a cake not from a boxed mix. I'm not a baker, boxed mixes are hard for me to pull off some days. Is there any such thing as a good EASY cake recipe that I can do some buttercream on to make everyone go "oooooooo mommy what a pretty cake" before they destroy it by eating the whole thing? I really want to learn how to make pretty cakes, and figured it may be a good place to start with just a simple 2 layer round. Can someone point me to a good recipe that I won't mess up too badly? I don't need to worry *too* much about elevation or humidity (I'm in the middle of Ohio) and we don't have any flavor preferences (just no citrus, soy, or red dye)

Oh, and suggestions for a good buttercream would be welcome too. I've only really worked with canned icing and would rather not go that route (I don't care so much for the flavor despite growing up on the stuff) I have a decent stand mixer and plenty of patience and little hands to help (or make bigger messes, you decide when dealing with kids)

The chocolate cake recipe on the back of the Hershey can is excellent and super easy! I always use the recipe "Buttercream Dream" in the recipe section. I'll see if I can find it and post a link for you....

Here you go!

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2123/buttercream-dream

This recipe is a "crusting" buttercream, so don't get worried when it hardens slightly. The inside will still be smooth and perfect! If you have never smoothed buttercream, this would be a good one to start out with. Get it as smooth as you can and then when it hardens a little bit, you can use a Viva papertowel (only brand without a pattern!) to smooth it out really nicely. You lay it over the top and press lightly, then do the same on the sides. I've also heard of people using computer paper to do this!

Good luck!