Happy Thursday folks! I've had a pretty relaxing day off which has consisted of nothing the least bit productive and I mostly blame that on the social media wormhole.
I ended up watching one too many cake decorating videos on Instagram as well and let me tell you, some people are ridiculously talented and elevate icing to an art form.
It may have given me some much needed motivation to try and learn some new skills but we shall see how that goes. I suppose I would describe my decorating skills as rustic, in other words, I'm not one for fancy decorating and that is perfectly reflected in the cake that I made for my sister last week. The whipped cream frosting and fresh flowers made it look effortlessly pretty with minimal effort and it gets extra points for being so delicious.
I remember as a child, birthday cakes were all about insane amounts of fondant icing (with a cartoon character or two), crazy food colouring and lots of sugar. The alternative in our house was the chocolate gateaux that you would have to defrost for a couple of hours, now I'll admit that I still think that it tastes great but rather than making a trip to Iceland (the shop not the country, for those who are confused) homemade birthday cakes are just a little more special.
For this one I decided to try a Nutella frosting as an ode to the chocolate gateaux cream and the flowers were actually an unplanned addition, as lots of people came over and with time constraints I went with a more simple decoration. But all's well that ends well!
This light vanilla sponge is also the perfect recipe to have in your baking repertoire because it is easily adaptable, seeing as it uses the 1:1 method i.e. equal quantities of most ingredients so it can upscaled for larger cakes.
So to make the vanilla cake you will need the following ingredients:
To begin with measure out 225g of soft margarine and 225g of caster sugar and cream until pale and fluffy.
Then add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture curdles at this stage, don't worry because it will be rectified later on.
Next sift in 225g of self raising flour and 2 tsp of baking powder and mix until well combined.
Add in 2 tsp of milk and 2 tsp of vanilla, give the batter a quick mix.
Divide the mixture evenly between two round tins lined with baking paper, alternatively use a large rectangle tin. Bake in a Gas Mark 4 oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.
To make the Nutella frosting you will need the following ingredients:
- Nutella (or other hazelnut spread)
- Double cream
- Icing sugar
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
Begin by beating together around 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of Nutella together in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Then add in 1 1/4 cup of icing sugar, 4 tblsp of double cream and 1 tsp vanilla, whip until the desired consistency is reached. Add more sugar or cream as you see fit.
Once the cakes are completely cool begin to assemble; sandwich the frosting between the layers and over the top and sides of the cake using a palette knife. Transfer the cake to fridge to allow the frosting to set.
The cake can be decorated as desired, I opted for some fresh flowers and a few berries. All decorating supplies gathered from the garden!
You could also add some Ferrero Rocher, a ganache drip or using a piping bag fitted with a star tip pipe on some rosettes.
😋
I ended up watching one too many cake decorating videos on Instagram as well and let me tell you, some people are ridiculously talented and elevate icing to an art form.
It may have given me some much needed motivation to try and learn some new skills but we shall see how that goes. I suppose I would describe my decorating skills as rustic, in other words, I'm not one for fancy decorating and that is perfectly reflected in the cake that I made for my sister last week. The whipped cream frosting and fresh flowers made it look effortlessly pretty with minimal effort and it gets extra points for being so delicious.
I remember as a child, birthday cakes were all about insane amounts of fondant icing (with a cartoon character or two), crazy food colouring and lots of sugar. The alternative in our house was the chocolate gateaux that you would have to defrost for a couple of hours, now I'll admit that I still think that it tastes great but rather than making a trip to Iceland (the shop not the country, for those who are confused) homemade birthday cakes are just a little more special.
For this one I decided to try a Nutella frosting as an ode to the chocolate gateaux cream and the flowers were actually an unplanned addition, as lots of people came over and with time constraints I went with a more simple decoration. But all's well that ends well!
So to make the vanilla cake you will need the following ingredients:
- Margarine
- Caster sugar
- Self raising flour
- Baking powder
- Vanilla essence
- Eggs
- Milk
Then add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture curdles at this stage, don't worry because it will be rectified later on.
To make the Nutella frosting you will need the following ingredients:
- Double cream
- Icing sugar
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
😋
Enjoy!
Q x
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