Vanilla birthday cake
Every year, on this day, it feels like I flip a switch and my heart is automatically overflowing with emotion! I get to relive so many beautiful moments, like a movie with some of my most cherished memories playing over and over again! The protagonist is always the same, all that changes is the expressions on her face, her age, the dresses and the headbands that she wears, the cakes and the number of candles my daughter blows out each time on her birthday.
I think that ever since I was a child, before I even knew whether I wanted to become a teacher or a doctor, I knew that, first and foremost, I wanted to be a mother. That was just nonnegotiable! I would keep on playing with my dolls a little longer and wait until the moment when I’d finally hold my very own real-life doll in my arms, my own baby. And I was truly lucky to see my dream come true!
That's when everything changed for me. Nothing can be compared to that moment and nothing would ever be the same after that. Nothing could be more important to me than being a mom, more important than the baby I held in my arms, my daughter!
Every year, on this day, I feel overwhelmed with feelings of joy and sweet nostalgia. I get lost in endless photo albums almost every time. Half of the pictures make me cry and half of them make me laugh. Pictures of loving hugs, cute kisses, tear-stained cheeks, ballerina shoes, chickenpox rashes, giant floaties, hands covered in cake, the first day of school.. A collage of endless memories with my daughter.
I almost cannot believe how the time went by so quickly, how fast my little girl grew into a woman and I can’t help but get emotional each and every year on her birthday. I’m thinking of how blessed and grateful I feel for all the memories we have created together and excited about what the future holds for us!
I’m used to making birthday cakes for my daughter’s special day and today is no exception! I just had to make something pink, jolly and girly -except the colour turned out a bit more salmony/peachy than expected! I know I’m not exceptionally good at making cakes. Desserts require a level of discipline I certainly don’t have. I prefer to improvise and let my imagination run free. But it’s the thought that counts, right? I’ve combined a few different recipes today, cut down the quantities of sugar and butter just a little bit (as always) and made a lovely pink cake for my birthday girl.
Happy birthday my dearest!
Ingredients
For the cake:
5 eggs, 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg
240ml milk
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
230g cake flour
300g sugar
1tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
250g butter cut in cubes
All ingredients need to be in room temperature.
For the frosting:
250g butter
600g confectioner’s sugar
4tbsp heavy cream
½ tsp salt
1-2 drops pink icing colour
Method
1. Cake. Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter two cake tins (they should be around 16-18cm wide).
2. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and the egg gently. Set aside.
3. With a mixer or hand mixer whisk the sugar, flour, vanilla and salt gently. Add the butter gradually. Keep whisking until all ingredients are mixed. Add the milk and keep whisking on low speed. Then, start adding the egg mixture gradually. Whisk until you have an even and fluffy mixture. Your mixture is ready for the oven.
4. Split the mixture into two cake tins. Straighten the surface so that it’s smooth and even. Bake at 180C for about 1 hour. Make sure the cake is properly baked using a toothpick. When they’re properly cooked, let the cakes cool off and remove them from the cake tins. Only when they’ve cooled off, you can cut them in half so that you have four layers for your cake.
5. Make the frosting. In your mixer’s bowl, beat the butter (it has to be in room temperature) for 1 minute on low speed. Add the confectioner’s sugar gradually. Then add the heavy cream. When all ingredients are mixed well, add the icing colour and keep beating for 5 more minutes until you have a creamy mixture.
6. Set the cake. Use the first cake as a base layer for your cake and then spread some of the frosting on top. Continue with the rest of the layers depending on how many layers you want your cake to have. Cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Add one extra layer of frosting and put the cake back in the refrigerator until it properly sets. Decorate your cake with anything you fancy.
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