A Lovely Little Layer Cake

And an exciting giveaway!

This issue of the newsletter is sponsored by Wilfa

Hello Everyone!

Is there such a thing as cake bakers anxiety? The condition is at its worst when making a wedding cake, but can exist when baking anything for somebody else. It’s the pressure and anxiety of wanting to do a good job for a special occasion, the worry that the cake will be damaged during delivery, the anxiety riddled thought you mixed up salt with sugar. Due to this harrowing condition I am almost physically incapable of making wedding cakes, that being reserved for a few very special people, for whom the stress is worthwhile.  The handful of times I have actually made wedding cakes, there has been a problem almost every single time. There was the time the courier slammed on his brakes as we turned into the venue, the cake skidding into the side of the car leaving it with a big dent. Or maybe the time the father of the groom, who drove us and the cake to the venue, drove like a maniac for the three hour journey almost giving me and the groom a heart attack. Or the time the staff at the venue somehow put a big hole in the side of the cake after a safe delivery. There is a reason I don’t like making wedding cakes. Thankfully birthday cakes I can just about cope with, the pressure is lower, as is the expectation.

This past weekend I was tasked with making my boyfriends mother a cake for her 60th, sorry Christine I mean 59th, birthday. The brief was simple and the decoration left entirely in my discretion. Thankfully the only stress involved with this cake was the journey, a three hour affair that involved a cab, the overground, the tube, a train and then finally a car ride. Thankfully the cake, a much smaller and simpler affair compared with a wedding cake, survived with nary a bump. We arrived safely at our isolated cottage in the middle of the countryside, miles from anything but the pub next door, ready for a chilled weekend.

As well as the cake we decided to cook a meal one of the evenings of the trip, which is always a challenge in an unknown Airbnb. Thankfully this place had just enough equipment to make the meal, knives just on the useable side of dull, random assortment of cookware just about useable, and it was only because of our forgetful selves that we hit any snags. With a few forgotten ingredients we were very lucky to be staying next door to a country pub who took pity on us and helped us out and gave us a bulb of garlic (I refused to make risotto without it). The resulting meal was fabulous, leek and gouda risotto served with a butternut squash and mozzarella salad. With cake as dessert, of course.

As it is mothers day this weekend, I thought the little layer cake recipe which I made for that trip would be a perfect recipe for the weekend ahead.

Dont worry about needing a stand mixer to make this cake, everything was made with a hand mixer, the Wilfa Smooth Mix to be specific. As much as I love my stand mixer, a good hand mixer (and the Wilfa model is an excellent example) is a great tool for so many recipes. This cake is a simple layer cake with swiss meringue buttercream and the Wilfa Smooth Mix is more than capable making both elements. Both elements are beaten and whisked for a significant amount of time so you want a mixer that is comfortable to hold and powerful enough for the job. The Wilfa fits the bill, for both. To celebrate Mothers Day I also have a Wilfa Smooth Mix hand mixer to give away. The winner will be chosen at random from the commenters here and over on instagram. To be in with a chance with winning simply leave a comment, either here or on Instagram, with you favourite layer cake flavour combination and be following both myself and @wilfaUK.

Giveaway open to UK residents, winner chosen at random and announced on my Instagram stories on Monday 20th March.

DONT FORGET YOU CAN GET A 20% DISCOUNT OFF WILFA PRODUCTS USING MY CODE ‘THEBOYWHOBAKES’ ON THE WILFA SITE

Lemon and Blueberry Layer Cake
Serves 6

Cake Layers
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
140g caster sugar
Zest 1 lemon
170g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 large egg whites
175g buttermilk

Buttercream and Filling
2 large egg whites
130g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
240g unsalted butter, room temperature and diced
50g lemon curd
30ml elderflower cordial
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
A couple drops almond extract
75g blueberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan). Lightly grease 2x6 inch round cake pans and line the bases with parchment paper. The tins need to be a couple inches deep, I like the versions made by both Nordicware and PME. If you use old fashioned sandwich tins this can lead to cakes with overly domed tops so are best avoided.

Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl and, using your Wilfa Smooth Mix hand mixer, beat together on medium/high speed for 5-7 minutes or until light and fluffy. Once the two ingredients are combined and looking like a uniform paste, add the lemon zest and vanilla bean paste and continue mixing for the full 5-7 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.

The cake is what Americans would call a ‘white cake’ so it’s made with only egg whites, giving the cake a lovely pale colour. Add the whites one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding the second. Add the flour, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl and whisk together to combine. Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture, adding in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Once you have a smooth cake batter divide it equally between the two prepared cake pans. Level out the cake batter and then bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the cakes have just started to pull away from the sides of the pans. The cakes should also spring back to a light touch. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream add the egg whites, sugar, salt and cream of tartar to a large bowl and lightly whisk together to combine. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Cook, stirring the egg whites constantly, until the whites are hot to the touch and you can no longer feel the grains of sugar. Remove from the heat and, using your Wilfa Smooth Mix hand mixer, whisk the whites until they form a stiff glossy meringue that is about body temperature, this will take about 10 minutes. Whilst continuing to mix add the butter, a piece or two at a time. Once all the butter has been added the mixture should have formed a buttercream like texture. Turn the mixer to its lowest speed and beat the buttercream for a few minutes to smooth it out and to ensure it has a silky smooth texture. For flavourings add the lemon curd, elderflower cordial, vanilla and almond extract and beat to combine. You can omit the almond if you prefer, but don’t worry this is not an almond flavoured buttercream, the tiny amount simply gives the buttercream a more rounded flavour with an added depth to it.

To assemble the cake place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter. Scrape a small amount of the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Pipe a border of buttercream around the top of the cake. Fill the centre of the cake with the blueberry jam. Place the second cake layer on top of the first. At this point you can either crumb coat the cake, spreading a very thin layer of buttercream over the cake and refrigerating until firm, or just go for it, spreading the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. The benefit of the crumb coat is that by chilling the cake the small layer of buttercream sets firm making the cake stable and easier to frost. It also locks in any errant crumbs meaning the finish of your cake will be more professional. The benefit of just going for it, is simply that it’s quicker. The choice is up to you.

To decorate the cake I decided to take a bit of inspiration from Korean lunch box cakes, small layer cakes that are decorated in a very simple manner. I used a mix of edible flowers, blue cornflowers and beautiful yellow tagete petals. To add a little extra sparkle I finished the decoration with a light sprinkling of white non-pareils.