Like baking, saving takes a little bit of patience, but the rewards are worth it. For Benji, savings have helped in the kitchen as she saved up gradually for her beloved Kitchen Aid mixer, which now she couldn’t live without.
Here’s Benji, putting that Kitchen Aid to great use…
You can’t beat a good slice of buttery vanilla cake and I’ve just topped this with a classic buttercream and lots of strawberries for an easy afternoon bake. As the weather is finally getting warmer, this would be perfect to enjoy over a sunny weekend. Also works pretty well with raspberries too!
Cake:
160g unsalted butter, softened
190g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 large eggs
50ml milk
190g plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Vanilla Buttercream:
180g unsalted butter, softened
220g icing sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
pinch of salt
2 tbsp boiling water
Strawberries:
200g strawberries, hulled and finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
50g caster sugar
1 tsp rosewater (optional)
Extra strawberries to decorate
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C.
Grease and line an 8-inch / 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Add the butter, sugar and vanilla to a bowl and use a stand mixer or electric whisk to beat until really pale and fluffy.
Add in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add half of the flour mixture to the eggs and mix until combined. Stir in the milk followed by the rest of the flour.
Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for 38-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let it cool completely.
To make the strawberry sauce, add the chopped strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and rosewater if using to small saucepan. Bring to the boil and let the strawberries cook for 4-6 minutes until they have softened and broken down and the liquid looks syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
To make the buttercream, add the butter and vanilla to a bowl and using a stand mixer or electric whisk, beat on medium high speed for 3-4 minutes until very pale and creamy. Add in the sugar and continue to beat until the buttercream is thick and fluffy.
Pour in 2 tbsp of boiling water and mix until the buttercream looks smooth. To assemble, spoon the buttercream onto the cooled cake and top with dollops of the strawberry sauce and extra fresh strawberries.
