Best Ever Birthday Cake
It’s time to level up your birthday cake game. A Victoria sponge is ok, but this is a fantastic cake that takes like it was made by a professional. You can make it look professional too, if you have the time and a cake wheel, or you can just smother on the icing like I do and dig straight in.
This sponge is super light and fluffy as well as moist thanks to the sour cream. If you’re making a vanilla sponge I’d recommend using the best vanilla you can afford. This vanilla bean paste is my favourite and I save it for making a sponge where the vanilla is the star of the show. Or some flavouring works too - I really like this lemon extract.
What also adds to the texture of this sponge is the use of egg whites. I like to sometimes use a carton of egg whites when I’m making a cake like this, but I don’t recommend using them for the icing, as they’re pasteurised and don’t whip up like a fresh egg white would. As this recipe calls for 6 egg whites you could use a carton and make a carbonara for supper out of the yolks.
What’s really special is the icing which is Italian meringue buttercream. It is AMAZING and worth a bit of extra effort. I promise you once you’ve made it once you will happily make it again and again. I’m now pretty confident making it without a thermometer but I really recommend you use one for the first few times so you ensure the sugar syrup is hot enough to cook the eggs. One like this is good bet.
This recipe makes two lovely layers, but you can very happily double this recipe to make a 5 tiered showstopper - just divide the mixture equally into five tins and bake for a couple of minutes less. I have this set of cake pans, which are great for making multi-tiered cakes like the famous rainbow cakes that look so great in pictures. A few questions you might have before we begin…
What is Italian meringue buttercream?
Italian meringue buttercream takes a bit more effort and equipment, but if you have them then it’s more than worth the effort. It is made by whipping up egg whites and then cooking them by slowly pouring in a sugar syrup that’s been heated to the ‘hard ball’ stage which is 121 to 130 °C (250 to 266 °F). Once the meringue cools to room temperature you gradually whisk in butter and any flavourings and the result is a super light icing that’s less sweet than the traditional buttercream icing that you often have in homemade cakes. You’ll brefly think you’ve messed it up when you start adding the butter and it slops and flops a bit but you just keep whisking away and it all comes back together. You can flavour with just a dash of vanilla or a flavoured essence or add a few tablespoons of something like lemon curd, biscoff or even freeze-dried fruit.
In summary, Italian meringue buttercream is by far the best thing to ice a cake with. It takes more time but it’s incredibly delicious and not too sweet. Give it a try and I assure you that you won’t look back.
How to make the very best birthday cake
Serves: 12
Time: 1hrs 15mins approx + cooling
Skill: Easy - Medium as you’re boiling the sugar but I assure you you can do it
Equipment: A stand mixer or electric whisk, sugar thermometer and offset spatula.
Ingredients
For the vanilla cake:
200g self-raising flour
300g caster sugar
125g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt (3 grams)
3 egg whites (about 230g)
150g soured cream (I’ve tried it with creme fraiche before and it’s great)
1 tsp good quality vanilla bean paste or extract (I really love this one)
2tsp lemon extract/flavouring
For the Italian Meringue Buttercream:
125g caster sugar
80ml water
3 egg whites (I don’t recommend using a carton of egg whites for meringue, so why not make pasta with those spare yolks?)
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Dash of vanilla essence or a few tablespoons of something like lemon curd to flavour.
For the filling:
About a third of a jar of spread like lemon curd, jam or biscoff - whatever you fancy! Or you can use your buttercream.
Method
To make the sponges:
Preheat oven to 160°Cfan/320°F and grease and line 2 8" cake pans with parchment rounds. I use tins like these ones.
In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine the caster sugar, butter and vanilla until it’s light and fluffy.
Add in the egg whites slowly until fully combined. It will be pale and frothy.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add to the bowl then soon as it’s mixed add the soured cream until just combined.
If you want to make a colourful cake now is the time to add in your gel food colouring or food colouring paste.
Divide the batter evenly between your prepared pans so you get even layers. I like to use an ice cream scoop to portion it out doing a dollop in each pan in turn. You could, if you are a perfectionist, weigh the batter and then divide it by 2 to get it exact.
Bake the sponges for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. If your oven has hot spots I’d suggest turning the tins if you can see one side colouring too much. Every oven varies so keep an eye on your cakes for about 20 minutes and take them out if they look done. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you’re assembling straight away, you could put the sponges in the freezer to cool quickly.
To make the icing:
To make the Italian buttercream, put the water and sugar in a pan on medium heat along with a sugar thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment add the egg whites ready to be whisked. It’s essential the bowl is grease-free as grease is NOT meringue friend and it can all end in tears, not tiers.
When the sugar syrup reads about 115°C/239°F, turn on the whisk and start whipping the egg whites at a high speed. When the syrup reaches the hardball temperature which is 121°C/250°F it’s go time and you’re going to ‘cook’ the meringue which is the base of the icing. With the mixer still running on high, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow steady stream taking care to avoid the beaters as you don’t want hot sugar on you.
Once all the sugar has been added, continue whipping the meringue on high until the bowl is at room temperature which takes a little time so be patient. When it’s room temperature, turn the mixer to medium and start adding the butter in chunks of about a tablespoon at a time beating until it’s all fluffy and well combined. It might look like it’s curdling at this point but persevere and it will come back around as you add more butter. It’s important the meringue is room temp when you do this so the butter doesn’t melt.
Finally, add in the flavour (I used lemon curd for this cake) and mix until it’s fully incorporated and a nice pale biscuit colour. This is now ready to slather onto the cake.
To assemble:
I don’t think your cake needs to look perfect, if we wanted it perfect we’d buy them from a shop! To assemble I use a smear of icing to stick the cake to a board, plate or cake stand then fill it with something like lemon curd. This recipe makes enough icing to fill and cover the cake but I like to fill it with something else and have an extra thick later on top. I just use a pallet knife and hope for the best if I’m in a rush or you can use a turn table and scraper if you want it looking mega fancy.
I think to make it look ‘done’ it needs some sprinkles, fruit or crushed biscuits around the top but that’s totally up to you.
NOTES
I think this cake is best stored in the fridge but served at room temperature.
These sponges freeze really well so it’s a great idea to make the sponges ahead so you have less to do when you assemble them.
You can also make the icing ahead and keep it in the fridge for a few days. Just make sure it comes back up to room temperature before you use it, and give it a really good stir before slathering it on the cake.
Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate link from which I may make a small commission should you decide to purchase anything. Any money I make goes straight back into ingredients!