It was my Grandma's 90th birthday a few weeks ago (Go Grandma! She's still an absolute wonder woman at 90!) and mum asked me if I could make a birthday cake. Instead of opting for the favourite, lemon drizzle cake, I thought I'd go for something more traditional, A Victoria Sponge Cake!
It was sky high, light and fluffy and full of freshly whipped cream, sweet jam and summer berries!
Here's what you'll need:
- for the cake -
4 free range eggs
225g caster sugar
225g self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
225g butter (plus, a little extra to grease the tins)
- for the decoration & filling -
jam (of your choice, we went for raspberry)
double cream
strawberries
blueberries
raspberries
icing sugar (to dust)
1. Preheat your oven to 180C and grease your cake tins with butter and cut out a circle of greaseproof paper to sit perfectly in the bottom of the tin - it'll save you from any 'it won't come out!' dilemmas.
2. Into a large bowl break the eggs, add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter (make sure the butter is at room temperature so it's easier to mix in.) At this point you'll need to get mixing, If you've got the arms of a gym god then you can mix by hand... I chose to use the electric mixer!
3. Mix until everything has blended together, the mixture should 'dollop' (great word) off the spoon nicely.
4. Spread the mixture evenly between the two tins and use a silicone spatula to make sure you get every last bit of mixture out - or don't, because you know, lick the bowl and all that. Make sure the cakes are even and place them in the oven for 25 minutes. I know it's tempting but try not to keep opening the oven door to check - look through at about 20 minutes to see how they're doing.
5. They should be golden brown on top and coming away at the sides of the tin. I always prick the middle with a toothpick, if any mixture comes out they're not done. If it's clean, they're done.
6. Take them out of the oven, out of the cake tins - which hopefully shouldn't be too difficult as you greased and lined the tin - peel off the paper and leave them to cool.
7. Once they've cooled completely, whip your double cream using an electric whisk and cover the top of one of the cakes. You can level off the cake if you want too - as it will have risen high in the middle - by slicing it off with a sharp knife, but I chose not too so add some height.
8. Then put a layer of sliced strawberries and blueberries in the cream. On the bottom of the other cake spread then jam, then sandwich that bad boy together!
9. For decoration I placed some more cream and berries on top. I hadn't planned to put cream on top, but I needed 'glue' to hold the berries on. Then a dusting of icing sugar et voila! your summer Victoria Sponge is ready to go!
2 comments
Yes, you heard it right, it's birthday week for me!
(I don't know the source for this, but if anyone does, please let me know! It's gorgeous & want to give credit where it's due!)
You see, I'm 5 at heart and although I'll be turning 20... I find my birthday so ridiculously exciting that I make the most of it and make celebrations last a week!
I'm a sucker for planning. But I also love surprises. So, I have to learn to be Miss. organised, but also let my friends (aka, the decorations committee) take the lead too...
I have an absolutely jam packed week, with auditions, hair appointments, dinners out, friends visiting, rehearsals, seeing family and obviously partying very hard, but I shall try my absolute best to keep little Love On The Wall in the loop.
There will be hundreds of photos, so be expecting a rather photo heavy post next week!
I will be vlogging my birthday weekend, which will be going up on my channel. next Wednesday!
I also will be doing VLOGMAS! I'm going to do it in weekly videos, rather than daily as my life isn't exciting enough/I'm too busy to do daily vlogs!
Just a little update from a rather busy G! Now, I'm off for dinner with the Mr. & my family!
xxxx
What could be better than a cake in the shape of a lolly pop? (hint: nothing!)
Whilst babysitting with little bro's I decided we could all make cake pops together.
We went for lemon ones!
For the Cake Pops you will need:
125g Self Raising Flour
125g Caster Sugar
125g Softened Butter
2 Medium Eggs
1 unwaxed lemon (Juice & Rind)
Lolly Sticks
If you happen have a little Captain America lying about to help you that'll also be super helpful ;)
I use a cake pop maker to make them, but I know they can also be made with the silicone moulds. I love using the maker as they are perfect every time! I'm going to put the recipe for using the Sweet Treats Cake Pop Maker as I don't want to get it wrong for anyone using a different method.
(Sorry if you think it's cheating...!)
Now for the recipe!
1. Beat the butter and the sugar together until it's light and fluffy. I used an electric whisk for this, it saves a lot of time!
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between until it's fully incorporated.
3. Take the juice & rind of one lemon and mix.
4. Sift the flour into the mixture and beat until smooth.
5. Once you've plugged your maker in, wait until the green light comes on, then it's time to start making!
6. Using two teaspoons fill the bottom hole with a 'dollop' of cake mixture. (I say 'dollop' as it is trial and error to start off with, but it'll only take a few to get it)
7. Bake for 4 minutes then use a clean teaspoon to take the cake pops out and place them on a cooling rack. Be careful how you place them on the rack, due to the heat they might lose shape a little.
8. Repeat until all the mixture has gone and you have a cooling rack full of golden balls!
For The Toppings You Will Need:
Candy Melts (Yellow)
or Cake Covering (Brown)
or Icing Sugar (Pink)
Sprinkles! (or whatever pretty little things float your boat)
I have given three icing options as I actually had a bit of a nightmare making these cake pops, I ran out of Candy melts and had to improvise! The colour next to them correlates to the colour of the ones I've made so you can see what they're like. My personal favourite is Candy Melts. They come in a variety of colours, can be thinned by adding oil, they don't drip (unlike the icing sugar ones I tried... what a pink drippy mess that was...can't say i'll be using icing sugar/water/food colouring again, but i'm sure there are ways to make it work).
You just pop them in the microwave so they melt and you're pretty much ready to go. Candy melts have quite a thick texture so I find it's often easier to use a spoon to cover the cake pops, rather than dipping them in as that often ends with a cake pop drowning in candy melts and an empty lolly stick in your hand!
To make sure your lolly stick stays in, dip the end in the candy melts, then push it half way into the cake pop. This gives it something to grab on to and makes them hold a little better.
I'd recommend having something you can prop the cake pops up in once you've decorated them. I have a cake pop covered in holes that props them up, you could use polystyrene from old packaging just so they have time to set!
Recipe Booklet - This is the booklet from the Sweet Treats Cake Pop maker. Recipes and instructions are all in here!
This cheeky one just couldn't resist!
If you want to give cake pops as presents I'd recommend picking up these plastic bags and some cute ribbons to tie around. I'm sure you'd find them in most craft stores or here!
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| (Victoria Sponge made by Henry's mum. So delicious!) |
When it comes to birthdays, I absolutely love to spoil the people that mean the most to me. It's my boyfriends birthday tomorrow, so spoilt he shall be!
We've been out for a lovely meal with his family tonight and some presents have been opened (As I type he is playing guitar using his new amp)
Tomorrow, I will be cooking him breakfast, giving him his presents (wrapped very well... bows and ribbons and all that) and after a few hours of uni lectures, I'll be taking him out for a romantic meal!
Not a bad way to start a week or a rainy Monday if you ask me!
Do you like spoiling your loved ones? What does your Monday consist of?
28th November 1994 (put it in the diary!)
(illustration by inslee)
I am the biggest child when it comes to my birthday. It get so super super excited and, despite 19 not being the most exciting age, I'm just as excited to celebrate my birthday this year! Family birthday tea is one of my favourite things ever and it will be lovely to be at home! My best friend, Charlie, is coming down from Southampton to visit and I miss her like crazy and can't wait to catch up on everything (like our regular hour long phone calls aren't enough...) Due to it being assessment week (mine is on monday... eeek!) I have no lessons on my birthday! Celebrating in brighton will be so much fun and I will be documenting the whole day on here in a very photo heavy post. I might even use the big girl camera....
what's your favourite thing about birthdays?!
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