Happy Birthday Hubby!

As it was Mr G's birthday this week and I decided to make him a homemade cake!

I don't think cupcakes are quite manly enough for him.

His mum always used to make him and his siblings a vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream when they were kids. Actually, she still does. I decided to have go at making one just like Mother used to make. I used the recipe for the vanilla layer cake from The Primrose Bakery cookbook.

Ingredients:-

225 grams unsalted butter (at room temp)

225 grams caster sugar

210 grams self raising flour (sifted)

25 grams corn flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 large eggs (at room temp, organic or free range)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tabelspoons semi-skimmed milk (at room temp)

Method:-

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees centigrade / 350 degrees farenheit / Gas Mark 4.

2. Grease and line 2 x 8inch / 20cm round sandwich tins with greasedproof paper

3. Place the flour, sugar, cornflour and baking powder into a food processor. Mix until just combined.

4. Add the remaining ingredients gradually. Do not overmix or you will take the air out of the cakes.

5. Divide mixture evenly between the two cake tins and cook for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Leave cakes to cool in tins for about 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Mr G likes robot type things so I had a stab at making a small fondant robot cake topper. I used grey rolled fondant and then painted it with some antique silver lustre to give it a metallic effect.

I also used the Primrose Bakery recipe for chocolate buttercream as it used melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder.

Chocolate Buttercream:-
175 grams good quality dark chocolate (70 % cocoa solids)

225 grams unsalted butter (at room temp)
1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 grams icing sugar (sifted)

Method:-

1. Melt the chocolate and allow to cool.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth.
3. Add the chocolate and continue to beat until fully incorporated.


I then spread a layer of the buttercream over the top of one of the cakes.
And then sandwiched them together!


I then frosted the top of the cake and the sides with the remaining buttercream.
I put a piece of greaseproof paper underneath the cake to stop it getting all over the cake stand.

The cake looked very homemade, and more like something that I used to bring home from my home economics class. But I guess it had the best ingredient of all in it...

....LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE!!