Vanilla Cake Recipe

This is a recipe from the blog Preppy Kitchen, by John Kanell.  He actually calls it Vanilla Cake Recipe for some reason, so I will stick with that.  Mr P.'s birthday was coming up, and he loves vanilla cake, so this was perfect.  And I have to say, this is a fabulous cake, which Mr P. said was the best cake I'd ever made!  High praise indeed!  It went down well with the neighbours too.

This is a bit of a personal note here: Mr P. has a long term neurological disease plus the recent cancer diagnosis.  He is always chirpy, and still working hard.  He's a bit of a legend really!  Big thanks to everyone who has asked about him, and sent best wishes.  We really appreciate it.

sweet, fruity and vanilla deliciousness

Serves quite a few :=):

ingredients:

For the cake:

300g./2½ cups plain flour

2¼ tsp baking powder (such an odd amount!)

¾ tsp salt

170g./¾ cup butter, at room temp.

333g./1⅔ cups white sugar

3 large eggs, at room temp.

1 Tbs vanilla extract  (yes, you read that right!)

240 mL/1 cup buttermilk, at room temp.

yep, it's flour

I decided not to go with John's buttercream icing (600g. of icing sugar!!), but instead went with a white chocolate ganache from Emelia Jackson's new book: You had me at cake.  And then I made a Chantilly cream to go in the middle of the two layers.  And added heaps of fruit in the middle and on top!  

For the Chantilly cream:

200 mL/7 oz whipping/thickened cream

50g./2 oz icing sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla extract

For the white chocolate ganache:

65 mL/2 oz whipping/thickened cream

165g./5¾ oz white chocolate, chopped

7g./⅓ oz butter, at room temp.

½ tsp vanilla extract

you can use vanilla paste or extract

For decoration: 

1 x punnet of raspberries and 1 punnet of blackberries (or your fave berries) to fill the middle and to decorate the top layer   see Notes

blackberries (but use your fave)

Method:

For the cake:

Turn on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up

Butter and flour two round cake tins - 20 cm/8 inch sized- and add a layer of baking paper to the bottoms

Grab a medium mixing bowl, and whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together

Now grab another mixing bowl, throw in the butter, and beat with an electric hand beater (or your stand mixer) till smooth

Then you add the sugar, and beat again on high till light and fluffy

You know what happens next - add the eggs one at a time, and beat them in, then in goes the vanilla, and beat it in briefly

Now on a low-speed, you beat in the flour in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk

And to finish off, you grab a spatula and give it all a good (but gentle) mix - don't go crazy!

Pour the batter into the two tins, and bake for around 30 minutes - stick a cake skewer into the centre and when it comes out clean - you are done :)

Let 'em cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then tip them out onto a cake rack, take off the baking paper and allow to cool completely

In the meantime, you are making the Chantilly cream and the ganache!

For the Chantilly cream:

Pour the cream into a mixing bowl, grab your beaters and beat till you have lovely soft peaks

Then add the icing sugar and vanilla, and beat them in, but not too frenziedly - just till combined nicely

For the ganache:

Cream goes into a small saucepan, and you bring it to a simmer (says Emelia)

Your white chocolate is in a heatproof bowl, so you tip the hot cream over it and let it melt the chocolate for a minute or two - then give it a good stir till combined

Add the butter and vanilla, and stir madly (or with a stick blender) till 'smooth and glossy'

Let it sit and cool for a bit, before spreading over your delicious cake

Throw on all the berries!

Notes:

Throw on as many berries (or your fave fruit) as you desire to the middle layer and the top of the cake!

gather your ingredients

beat the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar 

in goes the vanilla 

and the flour mixture and the buttermilk

into the cake tins for baking

and baked!

let 'em cool right down

find a lovely cake plate (our mate Brooke from Red Door Studio made this!)

slather on the Chantilly cream and throw on the berries

and on goes the top layer

you've poured over the ganache and thrown on the berries!

it didn't last long!

so good! (as a certain English cook says all the time!)

(A quick update re. Mr P.'s health - treatment is going well; two weeks down and three to go!)  And hopefully that will be it, at least for now.  Thanks again to all those who have sent their best wishes.)