Jo Wheatley's Vanilla Birthday Cake

It seems if you want to make a very well received birthday cake in a limited amount of time, Jo Wheatley's Vanilla Birthday Cake from her 'A Passion for Baking' Book' is just the ticket!  (Currently just £5 at Sainsbury's - an absolute bargain!!)  Its similar to this one but the recipe in the book creams the sugar and softened butter first, before adding the remaining ingredients.

I baked mine in a preheated static 180c oven for 24 minutes and instead of using strawberry jam, I used lashings of blackcurrant jam to sandwich it together.  I found the blackcurrant jam helped cut into the sweetness of the butter cream icing and filling.  Ideally, make the cake the day before, as it really seems to improve in moistness and flavour.

The first time I made it was actually for Mothers Day. 

I reserved some of the butter cream and added some purple food colouring, then piped on the flowers.

 

 

The second (and by no means last!) attempt was for OH's birthday and was a real dash to make it without him knowing.  Hence the slap-dash decoration.  Still equally tasty though!

 

 

 

Apparently described by work colleagues as 'the best cake ever', one lady who doesn't even bake wants to give it a go.  So, go on, try it, I urge you - you won't be disappointed!

 

 

Happy baking!