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Every birthday I make a themed cake for the boys in tune with what’s going on for them currently.
Right now they’re crazy about Nerf guns. I think Michael would love it if they were equally keen on flower arranging but they’re eight-year old boys at a boys school and obsessed with guns, ninja warriors, secret agents, bombs, bows and arrows etc.
So they chose a Nerf gun party for twenty of their Rambo-esque friends and I supplied the cake. Not the quickest, at about half a day prep, but a beautiful six-layer rainbow cake for them to scoff down with enough left for seconds.
For the cake;
680g sugar
510g buttermilk
340g unsalted butter
170g vegetable oil
7 large eggs – whites only
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 different food dye colour gels
For the frosting;
1kg icing sugar
500g unsalted butter (room temp)
A few drops of vanilla extract
Cake toppers
Method:
Grease and line 6 x 20cm round loose bottom cake tins. Preheat oven to 160c (fan).
In a large bowl, combine 220g of buttermilk with the oil. In another bowl whisk the remaining 290g of buttermilk with the egg whites. In another bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb of soda and salt together, then add the butter and beat until mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Add the buttermilk and oil to the dry ingredients and beat for a couple of minutes, then add the egg white mixture just until all is incorporated.
Divide the batter into 6 bowls and using a few drops of food dye in each mix to get desired colour. Pour batter into the prepared cake tins and bake for appx 22-25 mins, until cake is firm to touch. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for a couple of minutes before releasing the cake from the tin to fully cool. Level off cakes if necessary.
I froze the cake layers for an hour before frosting as this makes it easier to frost. To make the frosting, beat the icing sugar, butter and vanilla together for a few mins. Then spread a layer of frosting in between each layer of cake. Apply a very thin layer of frosting over the top and around the sides of the cake. Place this in the fridge for half an hour. Colour the remaining frosting any colour you want for the outside of the cake. Using this, frost the cake using a palette knife and cake smoother to get a smooth even finish, (this can take a few mins). Decorate cake with desired cake toppers.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
Where were you standing when you decided to adjust your hair colour? Do you stand there often?
At the first salon I worked as a junior, back in the last century, the colourists at the salon had an interesting technique for showing clients their finished results; escorting them to the ladies toilet where a single electric wall light seemed to cast a favourable glow.
