Recipe: How to make a cannabis-infused birthday cake

Cake is a birthday tradition! Regardless of whether you’re 21 or 91, this cannabis-infused birthday cake will get the party started.

This recipe is designed with a cannabutter containing 130 mg of THC so that when infused into buttercream, each slice contains approximately 10 mg per slice. 

It’s the perfect addition to any festive occasion, whether celebrating a birthday or the anniversary of legalization in your state or country.

Recipe: How to make a cannabis-infused birthday cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 3½ cups cake flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup room temperature butter (2 sticks)
• 1½ cups sugar
• 8 large egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Rainbow sprinkles

Infused buttercream

• 10 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1¼ cups room temperature butter (2½ sticks)
• 2 tablespoons room temperature cannabutter
• 1 cup milk

Directions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Line two cake tins with parchment, cooking spray, and sprinkled flour
3. In one mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt
4. In a glass measuring pitcher, add milk and vanilla extract
5. In a stand mixer, beat together room temperature butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy
6. On low speed, slowly add the flour to the butter and sugar mixture in three parts, one at a time, alternating with half of the milk mixture until you have a smooth batter
7. In a separate mixing bowl or stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and cream of tartar until medium stiff peaks, then add sugar until you have stiff and glossy peaks
8. Gently fold a quarter of the egg whites into the cake batter until smooth, then gently add the remaining whites. Fold together until you have a smooth and consistent batter
9. Stir in sprinkles and then divide the mixture into the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes
10. Let the cakes cool for 10 mins, then run a small knife around the edge of the cake and carefully remove the cakes from the tins. Peel off the parchment, then let cool completely on a wire rack, face up

Buttercream

1. In the stand mixer, beat together powdered sugar and room temperature butter and cannabutter until smooth
2. Slowly add the milk to the mixture and beat until smooth and consistent

Decorating

1. Trim the rounded tops of the cakes, then cut in half along the equator into 2 even slices (so you have 4 pieces in total)
2. Put one piece on the cake stand, then add some icing to the edge of the cake, then place another piece on top and repeat until all of the cake pieces are used. For the last piece, use one of the bottom pieces flipped upside down so you have a nice flat top for the cake
3. Ice around the sides and top of the cake to the desired thickness, then cover with rainbow sprinkles

Yield = 12 slices of cake

*Tips for dosing cannabis infusions

The potency of your infusions depends on many factors, from how long and hot it was cooked to the potency of your starting material. To test the potency of your finished product, try spreading ¼ or ½ teaspoon on a snack and see how that dose affects you after an hour. Decrease or increase dose as desired. You can then use this personalized “standard” dose as a baseline for your recipes. Click here for more information on why potency is so difficult to measure in homemade cannabis edibles.