Description
Celebrate a career milestone with this robust and elegant vanilla sponge cake. Designed to support a professional fondant finish, it offers a dense, nostalgic crumb that stays moist for days, making it the ultimate centerpiece for any retirement party.
Ingredients
- 350g Butter or Margarine (room temperature)
- 350g Caster Sugar
- 6 Large Eggs
- 350g Self-Raising Flour
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 1kg Ready-to-roll Fondant Icing
- 150g Butter (for buttercream)
- 300g Icing Sugar (for buttercream)
- Extra icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160C (Gas mark 2.5) and line a deep 23cm round tin with greaseproof paper.
- Beat the butter (or margarine) and sugar together for at least 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Whisk the eggs and milk in a separate jug, then add them to the butter mixture alternately with the flour to maintain a smooth texture.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, spoon the batter into the tin, and level the surface.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the buttercream by beating together 150g butter, 300g icing sugar, a splash of milk, and vanilla until creamy.
- Apply a thin layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cold cake to act as a crumb coat and glue for the fondant.
- Roll out the fondant icing to a thickness of 0.5cm on a surface dusted with icing sugar.
- Carefully drape the fondant over the cake, smooth out any air bubbles with your hands, and trim away the excess at the base.
Notes
To ensure the most professional finish, allow the cake to settle for a few hours after crumb coating before applying the fondant. If you are working in a warm kitchen, chilling the buttercream-coated cake for 20 minutes will provide a firmer base for rolling and smoothing the final icing layer.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British