First Birthday Celebrations!

With A First Birthday This Week - we are talking celebration cakes...

Well, my gorgeous little girl needed to have a wealth of cake for her birthday, start as you mean to go on. Some guest like sponge, others fruit so why not two?  I didn't want to use chocolate and a lot of coloured icing as I wanted the children to eat the cake (and sleep at night!). It was an absolute delight to bake them, here it my baking journey and recipes ...

 

Vanilla Victoria Sponge With Lemon Butter Cream Icing

 This cake was amazingly light and only used 5 large eggs to make a very light sponge. A hint of vanilla added to the flavour. Make sure the mixture is really beaten well and the flour is folded in.

You Will Need -

300g Self Raising Flour

30g Cornflower

325g Butter

325g Caster Sugar

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cream

1 teaspoon baking powder

For the icing -

150g Butter

75g Icing Sugar

1 teaspoon of lemon flavouring

2/3 drops of green food colouring

1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons of raspberry jam

Go Create!

Turn on the oven at 200C and line 2 circular cake tins with greaseproof.

(25cm and 20cm diameter tin)

1, Leave the butter and egg out at room temperature. Then  beat the butter and sugar together.

2. Add the vanilla extract and the eggs one by one. Whisk until soft peaks of buttery loveliness is in the bowl.

3. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in large folding motions until completely mixed in.

4. Add the milk.

5. Take the two cake tins and pour out the mixture making sure to get it in the corners.

6. Put in the hot oven and immediately turn down to 180C. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Leave to cool on a wire rack then turn upside down and remove the papers leaving behind a marvellous sponge cake.

To Make the Icing -

1. Leave the butter out at room temperature, then in a bowl beat in the icing sugar spoon by spoonful.

2. When the icing starts to get stiff add the lemon flavouring, if still stiff add a drop of milk.

To Assemble -

1. Take the jam and heat until runny, this is easier to spread on the cake. With the bottom side of the largest cake face up, spread on the jam. Add a thin layer icing.

2. Add the top of the smaller cake face down onto the cake. You now have a sandwich.

3. Take the icing and take 2 tablespoons and leave to one side for the green piping

4. Take a spatula and start to add the icing to the cake as per picture, use a boiling water to make the icing smooth.

5. Take the remaining icing, add the colouring and mix and then pipe to the edges with a small nozzle.

 

Baby's First Birthday Cake

For baby's first birthday, I searched everywhere for a fruit recipe that was light enough so she could each it. With no luck, I made my own lemony, fruity cake that was light yet still with all the qualities you would associate with a celebration cake.

This was really easy to made and cook. Make sure that you give yourself enough time to soak your fruit over night..

Recipe on the blog soon, here's a sneaky preview...