Celebration cakes are one of my favourite to make. There is nothing more exciting than seeing the look on someone’s face when you bake a cake for them! a five layer cake may seem daunting, but with my Wilton Easy Layer Cake Pan Set, this recipe will guide you to a beautiful show stopper.
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 250g butter at room temperature
- 250g caster sugar
- 250g self – raising flour
- 5 eggs (at room temperature)
- Any flavouring/colouring you would like for the cake (make sure to use colouring gel rather than the rubbish from the supermarkets if you actually want a coloured sponge!)
For the icing
- 400g salted butter (at room temperature)
- 800g icing sugar
- Any flavouring/colouring you would like for the icing
Method
Firstly, preheat your oven to 180°c. Next, grease and line the five Wilton Easy Cake Pans.
Then, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. You can do this by using a mixer (e.g. KitchenAid), hand held mixer or even a trusty wooden spoon. Then add the eggs one by one with a spoonful of flour. Once you’ve added in all the eggs, gently fold in the rest of the flour. Finally, add any colouring/flavouring you wish to use. Tip – if you want to have different coloured layers, evenly distribute the batter between 5 bowls and then colour them individually before putting them into the cake pans.
Then, split the cake batter evenly between the five cake pans ensuring they are all level. You should be able to fit all of the pans into the oven in one go (the benefit of this pan set!). They should cook quickly, in around 10-12 minutes. Once completely cooked, transfer the cake pans to a cooling wrack to cool.
Whilst your sponges are cooling, start on your butter cream icing. This part is definitely much easier using a mixer otherwise you will need some elbow grease to get a smooth finish! First of all, beat the butter until it is smooth and easy to spread; this can take a few minutes. I also sift my icing sugar to prevent any lumps from forming in the buttercream. Slowly add the icing sugar to the butter until they are well combined so you have a firm but smooth buttercream. At this point, add any colouring or flavouring you would like.
Once your sponge layers have cooled completely, place them in the freezer for 20-30mins; this might sound strange but it will help when you are icing the cake. You might also need to use a sharp knife or cake leveller to top off any uneven tops of the cake layers.
Then, if you have a icing turntable, start to layer up your cake on a cake board (tip – always buy the cake board at least 2 inches bigger than your sponge so you can actually carry the cake without touching it). Ensure you put even amounts of buttercream on each layer by using a small palette knife. Don’t worry if crumbs come off into the icing, that is the point of the crumb layer! Make sure the whole cake is covered with a thin layer of icing (you should still be able to see some of the sponge through the icing at this point). Put your cake in the fridge to chill for around 20 minutes until the icing is firm. Then cover the cake with more icing so it is completely covered. Use a icing scraper and palette knife to get a smooth and even finish. At this point, decorate the cake however you wish.
Mrs B Bakes. 