Happiest Birthday Cakes

This is the birthday cake that I made for my firend Julie's birthday this year, it was a vanilla bean cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting and strawberry filling.  I have found as we are getting old my friends really appreaciate a simply delicous cake instead of the formal the usual grocery store get up! I think they prefer not to see their age written out in bright colorful icing for the whole world to see or it could be that sometimes the simplest way is the best way. 
I adapeted this recipe from a recipe i found on food.com.

Ingredients:

2 C flour plus 2 tablespoons cake flour1 cup milk, room temperature 6 large egg whites, room temperature2 teaspoons vanilla 1  scraped vanilla bean1 3/4 cups sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool 4 tablespoons oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° Grease and flour two 9in cake pans.

In a small bowl combine milk, egg whites, vanilla, scraped insides of vanilla bean and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder and combine at low speed.

On low, add butter pieces one at a time and then oil; mix until resembles moist crumbs.

Add milk mixture and beat at medium speed for two minutes until light and fluffy.

Stop mixture, scrape down sides of bowl and beat again for about 30 more seconds.

Divide batter evenly between pans and place in the oven to bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean (start testing at approximately 30 minutes).

Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 5 minutes.

Turn out onto wire racks and cool completely, about an hour.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened (no subs) 2 cups confectioners' sugar

6 ounces white chocolate or 6 ounces white baking bar, melted and cooled

3 -5 tablespoons whipping cream or 3-5 tablespoons half-and-half

Directions:

In a small sauce pan combine cream butter and chocolate and melt on low to medium heat stiring gently until combined.
Remove from heat into to a bowl filled with ice allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Use an electric hand mixer to beat in confectioners sugar one cup at a time.

Apply to the cake immediatley.

Garnish with fruit.