My 26th Birthday Cake (Strawberry & White Chocolate)
Who doesn't want to make a very over-the-top celebration cake at one point in their life? This was my first ever celebration cake but will not be my last.
Equipment
- Oven
- Mixing Bowls x6
- 16-inch Cake Tins x3
- Cake Board
- Turntable (I didn't use one but it would have been handy)
- Spatula
- Refrigerator
- Spoon
- Whisk
- Freezer
- Hob
- Saucepan
- Cling film
- Cocktail Sticks
- Baking tray x2
Ingredients
Vanilla Sponge (x3)
- 200 Grams Greek Soya Yoghurt I used a vanilla flavour one but plain would also work
- 200 Grams Dairy-free Butter
- 6 Large Eggs Approximately 400g
- 175 ml Almond Milk Any dairy-free milk would work
- 3 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 400 Grams Self Raising Flour
- 1 Tsp Salt To taste
- 300 Grams Caster Sugar
- 2 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Tsp Xanthan Gum
Macarons (see kasias-plate.co.uk/strawberry-macarons) - equipment for this not included on this list
Strawberry Jam (Filling)
- 350 Grams Fresh Strawberries
- 125 Grams Greek Yoghurt
- 100 Grams Maple Syrup
- Pinch Cornflour Optional: for thickening
Buttercream (Icing and Filling) - You will have plenty left overs too
- 300 Grams Dairy-free Butter
- 125 Grams Vegetable Block You could substitute this for lard
- 300 Grams White Chocolate Melted
- 3 Tsp Greek Yoghurt I used plain soya
- 850 Grams Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Paste
Chocolate Shards
- 100 Grams White Chocolate Melted
- 5 Grams Freeze-dried Strawberries Crushed
- 1 Tbsp Red Food Dye
- 1 Tbsp Pink Edible Glitter
White Chocolate Truffles
- 100 Grams White Chocolate Melted
- 50 Grams Plain Soya Greek Yoghurt
- 10 Grams Almond Butter You can substitute this for any nut butter
- 20 Grams Coconut Oil Melted
- 20 Grams Freeze-dried Strawberries Crushed (for coating)
Dipped Strawberries
- 5 Strawberries You can have as many as you like (it is for the decoration)
- 100 Grams White Chocolate Melted
- 1 Pink Edible Glitter For Decoration
Instructions
Vanilla Sponge x3 (I made this the day before assembly to let the crumb rest)
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
- Measure dry ingredients into a bowl and mix.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the eggs. Mix until combined.
- Add the rest of the sponge ingredients and mix well. The batter should be smooth but not too runny.
- Grease the three cake tins with butter. Pour the cake mixture into the three tins, spreading equally.
- Even out the mixture with a spatula and then gently tap the tins on the work surface to ensure even spread.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes (until golden)
- Remove from the oven and let rest on a wire rack until completely cooled.
Strawberries & Cream Macarons
- Make according to kasias-plate.co.uk/strawberry-macarons
White chocolate shards
- Using the Bain-Marie method, melt the white chocolate.
- Line a baking tray with cling film. Pour the melted chocolate onto the film.
- Spread the chocolate with a spatula until about 1cm thick.
- Add decorations accordingly (I added them randomly sprinkled until I was happy). To create the marble effect, I dropped red food dye in the centre and dragged it out with the spoon.
- Pop this into the freezer overnight to set.
- Once set, smash the chocolate into 'shards'. You want different sizes for the decoration. I found the best way to do this was to drop it onto the kitchen counter.
Chocolate Strawberries
- Melt white chocolate using the Bain-Marie method.
- Keeping the chocolate on the hob, lower the heat to keep it in a melted state whilst you dip the strawberries.
- Pick up the strawberry by the stalk and run it around the bowl. Use the edges of the bowl to help the chocolate rise up the sides of the strawberry, twisting as you go, to get an even coating.
- Pierce the strawberry with cocktail sticks (broken in half) to act as a 'prop'. Pop this onto a plate (inverted).
- Whilst the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle edible glitter onto the tip of the strawberry as desired.
Strawberry Jam
- Add all of the ingredients into a saucepan and heat gently on high heat.
- Once boiling, leave to simmer on a low-medium heat for about 15-minutes.
- Optional: add cornflour to thicken the sauce.
- Leave to cool before applying to the cake.
White Chocolate Truffles
- Melt the white chocolate using a Bain-Marie.
- Place all of the ingredients into a bowl (except freeze-dried strawberry coating) and combine thoroughly.
- Pop into the fridge overnight to set. This is a lot stickier than the dark chocolate truffles so takes longer for it to be mouldable.
- Take out of the fridge. Leave at room temperature for 10 minutes if the mixture has become too stiff.
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Using the palms of your hands, take about 1.5Tbsp size-portions and roll into balls and pop onto the baking tray.
- Optional: coat in crushed freeze-dried strawberries. I find this part useful as the mixture is very sticky and this helps it retain shape (and give colour to the cake).
Buttercream (filling & coating)
- Combine the butter and vegetable block in a mixing bowl.
- Melt the white chocolate using a Bain-Marie and add this and the other 'wet' ingredients to the bowl. Combine well.
- Finally add the icing sugar and mix in fully. The mixture should be stiff but creamy.
Assembly of the cake (day 2)
- Place the first sponge layer onto the cake base.
- Layer the three vanilla sponges ontop of each other, with a generous helping of buttercream and jam between each sandwich.
- Once layered, generously coat the outside of the cake in buttercream using a spatula. If you have a turn table, this will make smoothing the buttercream a lot easter.
- Scrape off any excess buttercream (thickness as desired). Keep going until smooth all over (I kept mine slightly rustic for effect). The buttercream/layering will take the most time.
- Sprinkle crumbled freeze-dried strawberries onto the top of the cake. I made a dense pattern in the centre and let this fade out.
- Place the rest of the toppings on (as desired). I put some chocolate shards in the centre and then placed three truffles, strawberries and two (complete) macarons on top.
- For extra decoration: I places 'half' macarons down the side with some small chocolate shards stuck in to the sponge.
Notes
This cake will last for about 5-days when refrigerated in an air-tight container.