Easy Peasy Cream Cake 🍓

I just wanted to share with you a super simple recipe. Not only is this strawberries and cream cake so easy to make, but it looks gorgeous (if I say so myself)

Here's what you'll need.....

Ingredients

For the sponge:

200g Butter

100g Light brown sugar

100g Caster sugar

200g Plain flour

1tsp Baking powder

1tsp Vanilla extract

3tbsp whole milk

1/2 tsp salt

2 Large free range eggs

For the decoration:

300ml Double Cream

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1tbsp Icing sugar

9tsp Strawberry Jam

1 pack (200g) fresh strawberries

Method

Start by preheating your oven to 170c, the greasing and lining a square 8 inch cake tin with baking paper.

Now the boring stuff is out of the way, onto making the cake batter.

Add the butter and both the caster sugar and the light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. I'm using a stand mixer, as it just makes life easy, but a hand mixer will be perfect too.

Mix together the butter and sugar until combined, around 30 seconds will do it. For this cake, we wont need to cream the butter and sugar like most sponge recipes.

Next add in flour, eggs, vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder. Start to mix on a low speed just to make sure you don't end up with flour everywhere. As soon as the flour isn't visible on the surface, increase mixer to a medium speed for about 60 seconds until you're left with a thick smooth batter. There should be no lumps of butter or flour visible. Next add in the milk and mix on a low speed for a further 10-20 seconds.

That's the batter done! Pour into your lined baking tin and using an offset spatula or the back of a tablespoon spread the batter evenly making sure to get into all of the corners.

Pop it into the oven for 30 minutes. Please note that all ovens run slightly differently, feel free to check at 25 minutes with a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, your cake is ready. If your cake isn't done after 30 minutes and your concerned the sponge is getting too much colour, simple place a sheet of foil over the top.

I turned my back for one second and the cake batter thief struck!

Now unfortunately once your cake is cooked, you will have to allow it to fully cool before decorating. This usually takes a couple of hours depending on the temperature of your house. I suggest you find something to do in these two hours, because the temptation to eat cake hot from the oven can be unbearable. As you can see, my husband Scot wont even wait for the cake batter to cook.

Finally cooled 🎉

Now that the sponge has cooled its time to decorate.

Pour the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and whip until the cream has formed firm peaks. Place a star nozzle into a piping bag, snipping of the end. I then like to use a glass to place my piping bag over, as it just makes life easier to fill the bag with the cream. Cut the sponge into 9 squares and slice your strawberries.

Place a teaspoon of jam on each square and spread evenly. Next for the fun part, piping the cream. I'm not using any fancy techniques here, just piping from one side of the sponge to the other. and as the strawberries I bought were rather large, I just placed two slices on top as decoration. If you're using smaller strawberries, you may want to use a whole one and just fan it out across the cream.

The decoration is totally personal to you, so by all means, swirl your cream, top with blueberries instead of strawberries and make it your own. This vanilla sponge will lend itself to any flavours. Why not try Nutella, cream and strawberries?

And now.......drum roll 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

You've just made yourself a mouthwatering cream cake. Time to put your feet up and sink your teeth into a slice (or two)

Please let me know if you make this recipe, I would love to see your bakes on Intsagram @annabellabakes