The Perfect Birthday Cake

Ok.... So ever wanted to make that one pretty, perfect, sparkly cake that you can whip up quick, bake with no fail and dazzle the kiddos at a party.?? I'm posting a recipe for just that. Yes, you can thank me later, but for now, keep reading.
Honestly, it doesn't much to make a beautiful birthday cake. A lovely vanilla cake, some delicious frosting and a bowl of sprinkles will do the trick. You got to trust me, this cake will be appreciated just as much by adults as kids will. There's something about a cake covered in sprinkles that screams out HAPPY!!!!! This recipe is the usual butter, sugar, egg, milk  ,flour kind. For the frosting I used Whipped Vanilla frosting, but,  if you're big on chocolate,  you can use even ganache, which by the way is the easiest and only frosting you really need to know. Works wonders in so many ways.

I loved the idea of using a whole mix of colours for the sprinkles, but if you want to stick to a single tone, I think that'll look pretty as well. Think shocking pink!!!!! oooohhh. I've put pictures of both cakes, one with ganache and the other with the vanilla frosting and no I won't tell you which I like more, but got to say they both look very pretty. Of course, the gems add an extra pop of colour and cuteness





So here goes :

Vanilla Birthday Cake :

For the cake :

226 gms/2 sticks of butter
2 cups castor sugar
4 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract.


For the frosting:


1 cup non diary whipping cream
4 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

If you plan on using ganache, you can find the recipe for ganache here

A bowl of sprinkles for decorating the cake.


Method:

For the cake:

1. Like all good cakes, start with beating the butter, and keep going till the butter is fluffy. Add in the sugar, little by little, and beat till the butter is creamy.
2. You've heard me say it before and I'll say it again, add the eggs, ONE by ONE, just until they combine with the butter mixture.
3. Beat in  the vanilla essence. Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda into a bowl.
4. Add the milk and flour in parts, starting and ending with the flour.
5. Pour into a greased and lined 9 inch round tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 .
6. The cake is done, when the sides have left the pan and the top of the cake is springy but firm.


For the frosting:


Beat the cream and sugar till the frosting forms stiff peaks. Mix in the vanilla.

To assemble the cake :

1.Place your cake on a cake base. Smear a little bit of icing on the base, before you place the cake on it,  so your cake stays in place.
2. If you are refrigerating the cake and want the cake to be a tad more moist, sprinkle some simple sugar syrup on the cake.
3. With an icing spatula, spread the icing, first on the top of the cake, then cover the sides. Flatten out the top and the sides, and don't worry about getting a super neat finish, coz the sprinkles will do that for you. You see why this is a great cake!!!
4. Place the cake over a large bowl that's filled with sprinkles. Scoop up a handful of sprinkles and toss them on the cake, starting on the sides and then covering all around and the top of the cake,  holding the cake over the bowl, to collect all the extra sprinkles. (Note: it's no fun cleaning a counter or floor full of sprinkles) and VOILA the cake is ready!!!!!!
5. You can pipe out little borders or stars on the cake and decorate with birthday candles or gems.

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