Hi it's Maria here again and I hope that you're well on this Leap years day.
My girlie wirlies love baking and spend many a happy hour in the kitchen. They aren't quite so keen on the cleaning up part though. Santa bought them a mixer and loads of cake making stuff for Christmas and they whizz up a mean cake.
Amelia's birthday is just after New year and now they have the mixer we started a new Birthday tradition. They bake their own special cake and get to choose the type and how it is decorated.
Their favourite is a Victoria sponge with a *generous* dusting of icing sugar. Ok, so it's a tad wonky but it's very tasty, honest.
The recipe
For the sponge
225g or 8oz butter
225g or 8oz golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
1-2 drops of vanilla extract
225g or 8oz self-raising flour
4tbsps raspberry jam
Icing sugar for dusting
For the buttercream filling
200g or 7oz butter (softened)
200g or 7oz cream cheese
150g or 5.5oz icing sugar
Pop the oven on to warm up at 180 or gas mark 4 to warm up.
Whizz the softened butter and sugar until it becomes fluffy and paler in colour.
Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla
Sieve the flour over the mixture and then fold it into the mix.
Divide the mixture into two sponge tins. I ALWAYS use the silicone stuff as they are so much easier and there's no faffing around greasing and lining.
Chuck them in the oven for about fifteen minutes or until it is cooked through. If the sponge feels springy to the touch it's perfect.
Remove them from the oven until they are cooled.
When it's cooled you can whizz up the buttercream.
Mix the butter and cream cheese until it's soft and smooth.
Sieve the icing sugar into the bowl and mix it in.
Now for the fun part
Lay the two sponges flat and spread one of them with a layer of butter cream and a layer of jam.
Pop the other sponge on top and sprinkle with icing sugar.
*Taste testing* otherwise known as licking the bowl clean
Easy peasy lemon squeezy and they really did make it all by themselves.
Toodle pip