Grandad's 80th Birthday cake.

So it was my grandads 80th birthday last week and I was asked to make the cake. As terrified as I was at the time, I said yes! I was very excited and yet nervous because I wanted it to be absolutely perfect.

The first thing I did was was pick a theme. I knew about 10 to 15 people were going and the biggest tin I have is a 10 inch circular cake - so that saved the debate on round or square. I wanted to keep it somewhat simple so this was not going to be multiple tiers! Just the one cake will do! Then came the colour scheme, I went for silvers and royal blue plus anything sparkly! I didn't want the cake to be overcrowded so I opted for a cake topper, 'Happy Birthday' writing and of-course the necessary candles. My grandad doesn't drink so no small bottles of champagne were going to appear on this cake! It was going to be simple yet effective and I'd like to think it was!

My friend kindly gave me Jane Asher's 'Easy Celebration Cakes' for Christmas and oh my god, it has been a godsend!! Both the sponge recipe and the butter cream recipe  come from the book and from now on I will always use the butter cream recipe. It is the best one I have tried so far.

Sponge Recipe 

375g Soft Butter
375g Caster Sugar
375 Self Raising Flour
5 Eggs
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder

Butter Cream Recipe

200g Butter
1 Tablespoon Milk
300g Icing Sugar, Sifted

1) Preheat oven togas mark 4/180c/fan assisted 160c. Grease and line the single 10 inch tin.

2) Put all the ingredients into a food processor or bowl and mix with a wooden spoon - or process on high speed - for about 2 minutes, or until smooth. Pour the mixture into the tin.

3) Cook for approx 1 hours 15 mins until golden brown and coming away from tin.Once cooked, place on wire wrack to cool.

For the Butter Cream

4) Put the butter into a bowl with the milk and mix together. Beat in the sifted icing sugar a little at a time, until the mixture is light and creamy. You can store this in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.Bring to room temperature before using.

Assembly

5) Take the single sponge and cut it in half to make 2 sponges. If need be trim the top of the cake to make it even - if needed. Now you have your sponge and butter cream.

6) Spread the butter cream on the bottom layer and then top with jam. Gently place the top layer onto the bottom layer and cover the top and sides in butter cream. Leave to set - I left mine over night in a cold room.

7) For the royal icing, I used ready rolled - preferably Dr Oetker. I tried the Tesco own rolled icing and it was much thinner and tore a lot easier. Even though the Dr Oetker ready rolled icing is £3.80 a pop, I would never use anything else. It is really good quality royal icing. Unroll the icing very gently and using a rolling pin, lift it up and gently place it down on the cake. Using your hands smooth down the sides fixing the icing into place. I used an icing smoother/polisher to achieve the sharp clean sides and top, gently apply pressure and work your way around the cake.  Once satisfied, cut around the bottom of your cake.

8) Time to decorate. I placed a royal blue ribbon around the bottom which instantly started transforming the cake. Next I placed the cake topper in the middle towards the back. This enabled me to place the writing in a crescent moon shape with an '8' and a '0' candles in the middle. I topped it off with a sparkler each side.

I don't have any pictures of the actual cake on the day - as I was the one who presented it. However I do have pictures of my trial run cake - which looked exactly the same except for the 80 candle - they were old ones we had in the cupboard. For the actual cake, we bought new blue sparkly candles!

The picture directly above is the actual cake on the day - as you can see - much better '80' candles!! We also put on a few other blue candles around the edge. The sparklers worked really well - one each side was enough  as they were quite powerful!

Sarahs Tips
Both the sponge mix and butter cream mix will change colour when ready. They will both change to a much lighter colour so keep mixing until you achieve that.
I used a cake cuter to cut the cake in half - an absolute essential to achieve the perfect cut. I borrowed mine from a friend but you can easily buy them in stores or online. They're like a giant cheese cutter!
I used a whole jar of jam for the centre.
When covering the cake do not go mad on the butter cream -a light covering will do. If you put too much butter cream on, you will have a very hard time with the royal icing - trust me.
Don't worry if your royal icing doesn't look so neat around the bottom when you've cut it, just use a ribbon to hide it!
If your royal icing tears then gently apply pressure and stick it back together - use a little bit of water if needed as a glueing agent. Then very gently with your finger stroke the tear until it is smooth.
A cake topper is a fantastic item to transform your cake! I bought mine online from Icing On The Cake at http://caketoppersonline.net/ The cake topper was absolutely beautiful and handmade by a lady called Alison. Once placed into the cake you can then spread out the stars as you wish - giving the topper some body.

Most importantly, the best advice I can given is DO A TRIAL RUN! I have never cooked a 10 inch cake before - the first time I cooked the sponge for the trial run it was a total disaster - it sank in the middle!! It sank quite badly and it had an egg stench - Jane Asher's recipe suggested 6 medium eggs, so for my second trial run I decided to only put in 5 eggs which worked - the cake stayed risen.

My second issue was the royal icing. I have had a lot of practice recently with royal icing - the Christmas cake and a three tiered birthday cake (which will be my next post) and for those cakes it was successful...however for this cake it went a little wrong!!! I put on too much butter cream. And then some of the icing tore and thinned out and then my fingernail nicked a bit of the icing and every time I tried to patch up the icing more butter cream spilled out. I got a little bit stressed out...and had to leave the room for a breather. I wanted the icing perfect  and it wasn't going that way... When I came back my dad did his best plastering techniques on the cake and actually fixed the hole. Eventually with the both of us, the icing looked respectable. Thank goodness the ribbon was quite thick! It hid a few blemishes!

A trial run lets you play around with colours and themes. I decided to use sparklers - on the trial run we lit one and realised they were quite powerful so one each side would do. Plus these sparklers had been in the cupboard for quite some time and had gotten damp so they took forever to light, so new sparklers were needed. I bought my ones from my local baking shop and they were totally safe for cakes.

I cannot pipe to save my life. So for the lettering I used small plastic letters. They're fantastic for for anyone who like me, can't pipe. They give a really professional finish with minimal effort. Just arrange them as you wish and using edible glue stick them to your cake! I got mine online from Cake Craft World :  http://www.cakecraftworld.co.uk/shop/products/id/cbp51.htm

Im pretty sure my grandad was really pleased with his cake! I must admit it did taste pretty good. You can't go wrong with a good sponge cake!

Jus-Rol Cinnamon Swirls

I can be such a lazy baker. Ever since being introduced to Jus-Rol baking products I have fallen in love with them... and my laziness has reached a whole new level. Last time I made their chocolate croissants, this time its the turn for cinnamon swirls! I LOVE CINNAMON SWIRLS. And my laziness is so great I didn't even cut the dough... my mum did! All I did was arrange them on the tray and then make the icing.

You literally cannot go wrong with this recipe...Simple, easy and delicious. They even provide the little pot of icing sugar for you! I've decided from now on I will stock these DIY cinnamon swirls in my fridge, they are so quick and easy to make and perfect for those days when unexpected friends drop in. 20 mins later you will have warm and yummy cinnamon swirls fresh from the oven, sitting on the table for your guests to enjoy. A new firm favourite for me.

1) Preheat the oven to 200c or 180c for fan/gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking parchment. Pull the corner of the red label down.

2) The can will open itself, then twist the can to remove the dough.

3) Using a knife, slice the rolled dough into 6 equal slices.

4) Place the slices on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

5) Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 11 - 14 minutes or until golden brown.For a glossy appearance slightly warm 2 tablespoons of apricot jam and brush on top of freshly baked swirls, allow to cool slightly, then drizzle the icing on top and enjoy.

Icing Preparation

1) Empty the pot with icing sugar into a bowl, add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of water, stir well to separate any sugar lumps. 

2) Allow cinnamon swirls to cool slightly, then drizzle the icing on top. 

I cannot give you any tips on this recipe...you really can't go wrong with it!!! So Enjoy!!

Sultana Scone Ring

On the 11th January I posted my New Years baking resolutions. I am glad to say I am still keeping it up through the help of Paul Hollywood's British Baking. The first bake was from the South East of England and was delicious Kentish Huffkin Rolls.

The next stop on my bake around Britain of course had to be Scotland. 25th January is Burns Night (I only remember the date because its exactly a month after Christmas) and my mums side of the family are Scottish, so what more of an excuse to chose Scotland was there?! My mum already had dinner sorted, so I started flicking through the recipe section for Scotland and tried to find a nice quick and easy afternoon treat.  I stopped at the Sultana Scone Ring and thought 'Yep, you'll do!'

Now this is truly delicious with a spread of butter and a cup of tea. A perfect afternoon treat leading up to The Burns Night Supper. Slightly cooled once taken out of the oven but still warm enough to melt the butter. This will make anyone feel happy and warm on a winters day.

Paul says 'Scone rings are traditional in Scotland and the North. In the past they would have been made from oatmeal or barley, both of which thrive in Scotland. Shaped into a round and marked into triangles for baking, these scones retain moisture well and are particularly soft and fluffy when pulled apart.'

Recipe

250g Strong White Bread Flour
A Pinch of Salt
40g Unsalted Butter
40g Caster Sugar
60g Sultanas
1 Medium Egg, Plus 1 Egg To Glaze
2 Tsp Baking Powder
125ml Milk

1) Heat the oven to 220c/gas 7/fan 210c . Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

2) Put 225g of the flour into a bowl with the salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, sultanas, egg and baking powder and mix gently with a wooden spoon.

3) Add half the milk and keep turning the mixture gently to combine. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, bringing everything together to form a very soft dough. You might not need all the milk.

4) Dust a work surface with the most of the remaining 25g flour. Tip the dough out onto it and sprinkle the rest of the flour on top. The mixture will be wet and sticky. Fold the dough in half, then turn it 90 degrees and repeat. Do this a few times until the remaining flour is all incorporated and you have a smooth dough. It will also introduce air into the mixture, which will make the scones light. If the mixture is too sticky to handle, dust your hands with flour. Try not to overwork the dough.

5) Form the dough into a rough circle about 2.5cm thick and lift it onto the lined baking tray. Mark it into 8 triangles, cutting deeply through the dough so the knife touches the baking tray.

6) Brush the top of the dough with beaten egg to glaze and bake for 20 mins, until the scones have risen and golden brown.

Sarahs Tips

The salt really does lift the flavour of the scone ring so don't leave it out!

I didn't use all my milk - add a little at a time as you can't take it back.

I had absolutely no problem kneading the dough on my work surface. It wasn't overly sticky or wet (be careful with the milk), so if you follow the recipe you should be fine.

Paul recommends that if you have a fan oven then to reduce the temperature about 10 to 15 degrees - I put my oven to 210 degrees.

My scone ring isn't a perfect circle but I don't care - it enhances its rustic charm!

Don't be scared cutting into the dough to make the eight sections - really go for it! It joins back up when baking but still creates the 8 sections.

I think I should have left my scone ring in the oven for a few minutes longer but due to the egg wash, it turns the dough quite dark. Don't feel intimidated about the dark colour - otherwise you might take it out of the oven too early - leave it in there, it is not burnt!