About the bake
This simple Baby Shower Cake is perfect for the new arrival in the family. Decorated with blue and white sugar paste icing, we've shaped this into a sky with white fluffy clouds on a blue summer's day. Cut this open to reveal a yummy sponge filled with buttercream and jam. Get creative, try alternative backgrounds- a hot air balloon, someone's name or even a few birds scattered across the top in flight, the sky's the limit. We've included some handy tips on cutting sponge cake in our classic video above.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (170°C fan, gas mark 4) and grease and line two 8" sandwich tins.
Step 2:
Beat together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 3:
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue to mix, before carefully folding in the flour and baking powder.
Step 4:
Split the mixture evenly between the two sandwich tins and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and baked throughout.
Step 5:
Leave the cakes to fully cool on a wire cooling rack.
Step 6:
Meanwhile make the buttercream by beating together the butter and icing sugar, before gradually incorporating the vanilla extract and milk.
Step 7:
When the cake is fully cooled, spread the jam and part of the buttercream across the top of one sponge and sandwich together with the other sponge on top.
Step 8:
With the remaining buttercream cover the sides and top of the cake to help the sugar paste stick in place.
Step 9:
Roll out the blue sugar paste into a large circle and lay over the cake, using your hands or a cake smoother to smooth out any bumps.
Step 10:
Roll out the white sugar paste icing and using a cloud cookie cutter stamp out the shapes. These can be stuck to the blue sugar paste by lightly brushing the back of the clouds with water.
Step 11:
To finish the cake, tie around a satin ribbon and top with a baby ornament or cake topper.
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 225g Butter (unsalted)
- 225g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 225g Self-raising white flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 4 Egg(s) (free range)
For the filling
- 60g Raspberry jam
- 250g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 80g Butter (unsalted)
- 25ml Milk (whole)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the decoration
- 500g Blue sugar paste icing
- 300g White sugar paste icing
Utensils
- Two 8 inch sandwich tins
- Mixing bowl
- Cooling rack
- Rolling pin
We'd love a slice of advice.
Was it yum? Did the recipe work well? Did you customise the recipe?
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 225g Butter (unsalted)
- 225g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 225g Self-raising white flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 4 Egg(s) (free range)
For the filling
- 60g Raspberry jam
- 250g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 80g Butter (unsalted)
- 25ml Milk (whole)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the decoration
- 500g Blue sugar paste icing
- 300g White sugar paste icing
Utensils
- Two 8 inch sandwich tins
- Mixing bowl
- Cooling rack
- Rolling pin