Hide a Shamrock in Your Cake With This St. Patrick’s Day Recipe

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9u0022 pan with nonstick spray.

To make the green cake: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy and light. Add oil and vanilla extract, and mix to combine. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly and scraping down the sides. Add half of the flour mixture until incorporated, then stir 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Repeat to use the rest of flour and buttermilk.

#SpoonTip: Instead of using buttermilk, mix 1/2 cup of regular milk with 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let sit for about five minutes, or until slightly thick with small curdles.

Add 10-12 drops of food coloring, or until your desired color. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes—or until the top springs back when you gently press it.

Let green cake cool and refrigerate until firm. Use a shamrock cookie cutter (or make your own) to shape out cake pieces.

#SpoonTip: Instead of using a cookie cutter, cut out a shamrock on a piece of paper and use it as your stencil.

To make the white cake: repeat steps 2 and 3.

Spray a 9x5u0022 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Pour a 1/2 inch layer of white batter on the bottom of the loaf pan. Align the cut out shamrock pieces in a row along the bottom.

#SpoonTip: Make sure they are aligned together as close as possible to get the best result.

Carefully add the rest of the white cake mixture over the shamrocks. Use a spoon to fill in the hard to reach pieces.

Bake the cake for 1 hour, until the top turns a golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, before removing it out of the pan.