Doves Farm are celebrating their 40th Birthday this week so it gives me the perfect excuse to bake another cake! Not any cake but the BEST vanilla cake!!
There are a number of recipes claiming to be the best Vanilla cake but I believe at last I have found it! This recipe gives you a super light and moist cake yet is stable enough for you you to stack and layer with buttercream without crumbling everywhere.
Another great perk to this recipe is that you can make it all in one bowl! So yes, less mess and tidying up.
The secret ingredients in this recipe are the Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour and the buttermilk, which makes the sponges moist and light.
While buttermilk can be found is most supermarkets nowadays don’t panic if you can’t find any as it’s very easy to make your own buttermilk at home using milk and lemon juice. To every 250ml of milk you add a tablespoon of lemon juice. It’s that simple!!
One other thing I love so much about this vanilla recipe is that it bakes sponges that cool with a flat top. This means no more waste when having to trim off the top of cakes that have risen and domed.
- 415g all-purpose flour
- 600g granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 225g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 7 egg whites
- 360ml buttermilk, room temperature
- 28ml vegetable oil
- 200g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 450g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 75g double cream
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Line four 7 inch pans with baking paper and grease with non-stick cooking spray
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined.
- Beat the room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Mix until there are no longer any large chunks of butter remaining and the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Pour in egg whites, and buttermilk on a low speed. Add in vanilla and oil, and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about a minute. Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. If you like you can use a digital kitchen scale to weigh and ensure they all have the same amount of batter. This will guarantee all your layers will be the same height.
- Bake for 35-38 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then release from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
- To make the buttercream beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Slowly add in the icing sugar and milk.
- Once fully mixed, add in the vanilla and beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated, and the desired consistency is reached.
- To decorate place the 1st cake layer on your cake stand, cake board or serving plate. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of buttercream evenly on top.
- Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with another 2-3 tablespoons of buttercream.
- Top with the third cake layer. Spread the remaining buttercream on top and all around the sides using an Pallet knife. Use a cake scraper to smooth out the frosting on the sides of the cake.
- To make the chocolate ganache drip put the dark chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in the microwave for a minute. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 5 mins. Stir to make a glossy ganache, then set aside to firm up a little – you want the ganache to be pourable but not too runny. Using a spoon slowly drip the ganache down the sides of the cake.
- Top off with strawberries or any other decoration.
- Refrigerate the cake for 2-3 hours or up to 1 day before slicing and serving.
Doves Farm kindly asked me to create and bake a celebration cake in which I was given some Doves Farm products and a £10 gift voucher in order to do so.
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