buttermilk chocolate cake + chocolate butter cream frostings + sparkling cherry lemonade brought to you by Hiland Dairy.

This post is sponsored by Hiland Dairy but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.




The birds are chirping, the weather is warming up, my flowers are in bloon, it's so close to being summer! I can almost taste it!! I love everything that summer engulfs, lazy days at the pool, no schedules, backyard gatherings, visits to our favorite amusement park, and my personal favorite...ice cream.



Today, thanks to Hiland Dairy sponsoring this post, I'm going to share THREE recipes with you...my homemade buttermilk chocolate cake recipe, a divine chocolate buttercream frosting, and a thirst quenching sparkling cherry lemonade.

First up, the cake. 

You'll need: 

parchment paper or flour + butter for the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. 

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Hiland Dairy buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

You know the drill. Mix the dry ingredients. Beat the wet ingredients. Mix them both together. Pour batter into pans and bake @350 for 30-35 minutes. You may have to adjust cook time based on your oven. I have a gas oven and I noticed that while baking two cakes at once I needed to cook them about 10 minutes longer. 

Next up, the frosting.

You'll need:

1 cup of softened Hiland Dairy butter 

1/2 cup of cocoa powder (sifted) 

5 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla 

3-4 tablespoons of milk 

Cream butter + cocoa powder, then add powdered sugar, vanilla, milk. Then try not to eat all the icing before putting it on the cake. 

Once your cake is made, cooled, and iced, be sure to serve it up with your favorite scoop of Hiland Dairy ice cream! My family's current go to flavor is HIland Dairy Outlaw Run. Oh.my. It's loaded with huge chunks and swirls of caramel! My seven year old looooooves caramel. She literally squealed...OMG LOOK AT ALL THE CARAMEL! GIVE ME!!!

Speaking of Outlaw Run, it's a new roller coaster at Silver Dollar City? Have you ever been to Silver Dollar City??? My family has season passes to SDC because we enjoy it so much! Silver Dollar City is such a unique theme park, I've never experienced anything like it. It offers a strong family atmosphere, something for ALL AGES (literally all ages) , and don't get me started on the food!

Hiland Dairy is offering ONE of you a chance to win a prize package to Silver Dollar City.

4 Multiple Admission Trailblazer and Show Lover’s Passes to Silver Dollar City, hotel accommodations, a $150 prepaid gas card for the road trip, a $50 coupon pack for Hiland Dairy products, and a cooler to keep your farm-fresh Hiland Dairy snacks cool on the ride!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER! 

Now, with all that divine richness from the cake + ice cream you'll need something to wash it down with!

Enter, lemonade.

I like to go the extra mile with my lemonade.

You'll need:

Hiland dairy lemonade

jarred cherries

sparkling water

ice - good ice, crushed ice, ice from you favorite 50's style fast food restaurant...you get the point.

Now depending on your level of sweetness preference...that will determine your sparkling water to lemonade ratio. I like a more tart lemonade so I put a little more sparkling water in mine. It's not science...just adjust to your taste buds.

Ahhhh....refreshing. And, peaceful. I love setting our backyard table and unplugging, and just spending a little quality time with my family on summer nights!

Would you ever try this cake?

Have you ever had sparkling lemonade?

Have you ever been to Silver Dollar City?

Don't forget to ENTER HERE for a chance to win a trip to Silver Dollar City from Hiland Dairy!