Judging by our Twitter feed, there were plenty of delicious bakes specially created for our #FathersDayBakes competition, but there was one in particular that caught our eye…
Look at this fantastic vanilla sponge cake from Daniel, aged 9! Decorated with edible flowers, lashings of butter cream and a smattering of sprinkles, if only his mum sent us a slice instead of just a picture! We recently hosted a little competition on Twitter to see what #FathersDayBakes you were cooking up this year and this entry from Daniel really stood out for us (although it was a very tough decision to make).
Not only did Daniel bake this classic all by himself, he gave it his very own twist by extravagantly decorating the sponge. In fact, it turns out he’s a dab hand in the kitchen, with his mum proudly informing us of his success at the BBC Good Food Cake and Bake Show. Daniel had the chance to have afternoon tea with the one and only Mary Berry after wowing judge Eric Lanlard in the junior bakes category.
Daniel absolutely loves baking and wants to open his own restaurant one day, called ‘The Brilliant Chef’.
If you’re feeling inspired just reading about Daniel’s success, why not recreate his amazing Father’s Day bake?
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 125g caster sugar
- 125g margarine or baking fat (e.g. Stork)
- 125g self raising flour
For the butter cream
- 150g butter
- 300g icing sugar
1)Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2) Gradually mix in your margarine, vanilla extract and eggs.
3) Pour your mix into a deep cake tin lined with baking paper (Daniel used a 20cm circle tin).
4) Bake in a preheated oven at 180c until golden and cooked through, for roughly 20 – 25 minutes.
5) Once you think you’ve finished baking, you can check if it’s cooked thoroughly by poking a knife into the centre of the sponge to see if any cake mix remains. If there is any left over on the knife when you pull it out, you may need to leave the cake in for a few more minutes.
6) Leave to cool on a baking rack.
7) Once completely cooled, cover with your butter cream. Mix 150g of sieved icing sugar with 300g of butter and liberally coat your sponge. If you do this too soon the butter will melt, so ensure that your sponge is completely cooled. Daniel admittedly didn’t measure out his buttercream ingredients as he prefers to work to his own taste. What a maverick!
8) Now you can get creative by decorating your cake. Daniel used edible wafer flowers, mini marshmallows and polka dot sprinkles.
Baking has always been popular in the UK, but it seems to be particularly cool at the moment. Whether you’re an expert in the kitchen or a complete beginner, you’ll find everything you need in our Bakeware section. Check it out here.