Base Madeira / Layer Cake Recipe and Working Late...

I've made a few birthday cakes recently - two in the last week. It's a great excuse to practise some new techniques and practice skills, especially since I don't make larger cakes very often. I've taken to using this recipe for layer cakes. It's dense and holds up well and makes a good slicing piece. It's not going to crumble into a billion crumbs when you cut it.

This Scotty dog cake was made in our new silicone large Scotty dog cake mould (we also do a matching small version for making chocolates). I made up a chocolate recipe batch as original intention was to frost in chocolate buttercream. I used one batch of mix - but to be honest, I should have added another half batch (6 eggs rather than 4) and made it a bit deeper. Always next time !

At the last minute, I changed my mind. It ended up split and filled with raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream and I frosted it in more pink vanilla buttercream with a star tip. I gave the cake a very light covering of the buttercream before piping the rest on with a star tip.

The ribbon originally came from the odds and ends basket at the local haberdashery and had been in my ribbons box for some time. It just worked brilliantly as a collar and I used two brown Smarties (chocolate beans) for the eye and nose. 

RECIPE

300g self raising flour

300g caster sugar

4 large eggs (room temperature)

250g of salted butter (soft - but not melted)

60 to 80ml of milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Sift flour and sugar together into mixer bowl. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add blobs of the butter and keep beating until all incorporated.

Put into a greased and floured silicone bakeware mould or tin (alternatively use cake release spray) and bake until done and a cocktail stick comes out clean. In an 8" / 200mm dia tin, this takes approx 70mins. It may take less in a bigger mould / tin or longer if you increase the quantity of mix to suit your mould or tin.

bake at 160deg C if using a fan assisted oven.

For the chocolate version, reduce the flour to 240g and add 80g of good quality cocoa powder. A little more milk will be required.

This is the other cake I made this week. Peppa Pig with her teddy - for Amelia's birthday. The bottom tier was two lots of mix cooked in 8" tins and made into a 4 layer cake (with tops removed after levelling). The top tier was one batch split between two 6" tins and made into three layers. It's on it's own board and the bottom tier is dowelled to support it.

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I had a couple of late nights at work making these. One night on my own. The second, Martin came in with two of his kids who baked some cupcakes whilst I iced the Scotty dog for their little sister, who's birthday was on Saturday. 

I don't really like being in there on my own late at night. It's a big old warehouse which used to be an American Air Base during the war with the kitchen (as yet unfinished at the top). There is a lot of noise at night. Weird creaks and groans and rattles. Mainly from the roof and the electricity metre - but it does still freak me out !

We know the estate is hunted. Some years ago, my husband saw a ghost in his unit, and Martin (my colleague) has had a ghost (man) walk right past him in the adjoining unit. I'll let him tell you about that sometime. Needless to say, I get creeped out working in there late and had to finish Amelia's cake on the second night as I just couldn't bear to stay in there longer in the dead of night on my own .....