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The boys love their birthday cakes and put a request in early each year. The theme is whatever they're interested in at the moment. Last year it was Nerf guns, and this year skateboarding having had lots of lessons in Camden Skate Park and Alexander Palace then coming home proudly showing their war wounds.
This was my effort around a vanilla sponge, because one of their friends didn't like chocolate. Michael has voiced his concerns about the sons of Jewish mothers being overindulged! Haha. Can't help it. :))
Ingredients:
For the cake:
330g sugar
280g plain flour
240ml buttermilk
170g unsalted butter (room temp)
3 eggs
2 ¾ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
For the frosting:
500g icing sugar
250g unsalted butter (room temp)
A few drops of vanilla extract
Food dye to colour
To decorate:
Edible modelling paste
Food dye
Method:
To decorate:
A few days before making the cake decide on the design as this will need to be made in advance as the modelling paste and dye will take a day or two to dry.
Knead the modelling paste until it is soft, smooth and crack free, then start to make your design. Let this dry and harden and then paint using liquid food dye. Leave to fully dry.
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 150⁰C (fan). Grease and line 2 round 20cm cake tins. In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
In another large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time beating in between each. Add half the flour mixture, then half the buttermilk, alternating and beating between each but only until just combined (don’t overmix).
Divide the batter between the two prepared tins and bake for appx. 25-30 mins, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once ready take out the oven, pop out the tins and allow to cool on a wire rack.
For the frosting:
Once the cake is fully cooled you can frost it.
Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla for a few minutes until light and fluffy. I spread a thin layer of the white frosting on the top of one of the cakes and then place the second one on top, then spread a thin layer of the frosting over and around the cake with a palette knife or cake spreader making sure it is smooth and even. Place this in the fridge to set. This will ensure when you frost the cake you don’t get any crumbs.
Add food dye to the frosting now to get the desired colour. You can split the frosting into a couple of bowls and dye different colours depending on your design. Take the cake out the fridge and apply a slightly thicker layer of the coloured frosting to the cake, leaving rough, smoothing, swirly, etc. Once you have frosted the cake you place on your modelling paste design. Then put back in the fridge to set.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
Such is the power of advertising in my formative youth, that the words ‘Bakewell tart’ seem inextricably linked to Mr Kipling.
Trust me, this tastes nothing like it’s been living in a box on Tesco’s shelves these last months…
