Tuesday, 26 January 2010

A birthday...

Today my niece, Rio, is 10 years old.  Double figures are always a bit of a milestone, I think.



Birthdays in our family are fairly typical.  The girls want pink icing...




...with marshmallows and maltesers... 



...perhaps some Dolly Mixtures.

The boys just want sweets and lots of them!

Rio has a cake with a heart on it.  Just for a change!




I use Hugh F-W's recipe from this book for my Victoria sponges now.  He says to weigh the eggs (I have balance scales, so I just put them in as the weights) and then use the same amount of sugar, butter and SR flour.  I usually add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a level teaspoon of baking powder.  I whizz the whole lot together in my food processor - no fussy creaming and folding and therefore no curdling.  Divide it between 2 sandwich tins and bake for about 25-30 on 180°C.  If I use 3 eggs, I use my 18cm tins and if I use 4 eggs, I use my 20cm tins.

For the frosting, I'm sticking with the one from The Hummingbird Bakery book.  Sweeties available from all good supermarkets!

Off out now for a birthday dinner here!

10 comments:

  1. The cake looks yummy, love all the decorations. Wish I had a piece to go with my cuppa!

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  2. That is a cake of which any 10 yr old girl would be proud! x

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  3. A perfect cake for a little girl. Hope you all have a lovely birthday meal.

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  4. The cake looks gorgeous. I especially like the soft colour as I am not a fan of gaudy icing! Enjoy your meal.

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  5. The word verification was 'groin art'. Now there's a thought! x

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  6. That looks delicious. I've not looked back since I started weighing the eggs against the other ingredients - it's a fab trick!

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  7. That cake looks absolutely gorgeous! Must try Hugh's recipe now... K x

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  8. we use the same recipe, and it is always fabulous ... i love the cake you made... wow so many treats on top!
    x

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  9. You are a lovely Auntie! Happy Birthday to her.

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  10. I use that weighing method too, it makes for the perfect Victoria Sponge. Beautifully decorated, looks absolutely scrumptious.

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