ross's vanilla cake

i am a december baby, so i am super sympathetic to anyone else that is. so often your birthday gets forgotten or lost in the hustle and bustle of christmas and the month flying by. so i like to make a big fuss over our friends that have december birthdays and there is quite a few of them! for instance our mate ross, whose birthday was today. i sent him a message to wish him a happy birthday and he replied with "still waiting for my birthday cake - no chocolate." i knew he was obviously kidding (other than the no chocolate part - because he is actually allergic to chocolate, poor dude!) but decided to do him a solid and actually make him a cake. easy peasy, except my best cake recipe is chocolate. sigh. off to the internet we go.

enter "my very best vanilla cake" care of recipe tin eats which was indeed that. so flipping good! i will absolutely be making it again and again.

CAKE

2 cups plain flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups caster sugar

115g salted butter

1 cup milk

3 tsp vanilla essence

3 teaspoons vegetable oil

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

225g softened butter

500g icing sugar

3 tsp vanilla essence

2-4 tsp milk (to adjust thickness)

 

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) for 20 minutes before starting the batter.

Grease and line 8” cake pans

COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

BEAT EGGS UNTIL AERATED:

Beat eggs for 30 seconds on medium/high speed

With the beater still going, pour the sugar in over 45 seconds.

Then beat for 7 minutes on high speed, or until tripled in volume and white.

FINISH CAKE BATTER:

Heat Milk-Butter: While egg is beating, place butter and milk in a heatproof jug and microwave 2 minutes on high to melt butter. Do not let milk bubble and boil (foam ok). Don’t do this ahead and let the milk cool (this affects rise).

Gently add flour: When the egg is whipped, scatter 1/3 flour across surface, then beat on low for 5 seconds. Add half remaining flour, then mix on low  for 5 sec. Add remaining flour, then mix on low  for 5 – 10 sec until the flour is just mixed in. Once you can’t see flour, stop straight away.

Lighten hot milk with some Egg Batter: Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into the now empty flour bowl. Add about 1 1/2 cups (2 ladles or so) of the Egg Batter into the Milk-Butter. Use a whisk to mix until smooth – you can be vigorous here. Will look foamy.

Slowly add milk: Turn beater back on low speed, then pour the Milk mixture into the Egg Batter over 15 seconds, then turn beater off.

Scrape and final mix: Scrape down sides and base of bowl. Beat on low  for 10 seconds – batter should now be smooth and pourable.

BAKE:

Pour batter into pans.

Knock out bubbles: Bang each cake pan on the counter 3 times to knock out big bubbles

Bake 30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.

COOL & FROST:

Remove from oven. Cool in cake pans for 15 minutes, then gently turn out onto cooling racks.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM:

Beat butter with whisk attachment in stand mixer for 1 minute until creamy. Add icing sugar / powdered sugar in 3 lots, beating slowly (to avoid a powder storm) then once mostly incorporated, beat on high for a full 3 minutes until fluffy.

Add vanilla and milk, then beat for a further 30 seconds. Use milk to make it lovely and soft but still holds it's form (eg for piping). Use immediately.

he seemed pretty stoked with his non chocolate cake and stopped giving me crap for about 1/2 an hour so that made it well worth it haha.

came out beautifully and so so yum. really handy when said mate is actually a chef! i'm always nervous when he eats anything i cook, so i feel like this was a win!