Vanilla Bean Cake with Vanilla American Buttercream

I think I have finally found a good vanilla cake recipe. But people look for different things in a cake. Some like it moist and dense, some like it light and fluffy. So this recipe is the latter option since it is more of a sponge cake rather than a butter cake but still provides the structural properties for layering.

I have always preferred lighter cakes over denser cakes and I am sure most people do. If you saw the Raspberry Naked Cake Recipe, I used a butter cake recipe which is a  lot denser in comparison to this one.

I wanted this recipe to be as simple as possible. I didn’t want you to experience the tedious process of separating eggs or cooking them over a double boiler or doing this method called a liasion. So basically, for this cake, you simply beat the eggs and sugar until they are pale in colour – that’s what makes it so light and fluffy. It’s also very important that you use real vanilla bean. But how does this differ from a butter cake?

In a butter cake, there is a really high fat content (hence the name). You will find that it uses the traditional creaming method – which is where you beat the butter and sugar, add the eggs, alternate between flour and milk etc. Whereas the butter in this cake is significantly lower.

So please trust me on this one. I’ve tried butter cakes, various sponge cases and other methods for many years until I finally found this one. It’s everything you could ever need. But please ignore my cake decorating. I really screwed it up for some reason and was supposed to look sort of artistic. However, with a cake this good, the flavour and texture make up for it.

I would also like to say thank you for everyone who visits this blog. Even if it’s just one view or a simple comment/like on Instagram, it really means the world to me. I’m getting more views lately which is pretty cool because people have been pinning my stuff on Pinterest. I’m not sure how you’re supposed to do that but I was meant to work on the interface/design of Beyond Our Sky; as in make it easier to pin photos and all that technical magic.

I also wish you happiness in your life because I know it can get a little hard sometimes when the world seems to be against you. I always use to tell my close friend that everyone is destined to do something amazing one day.But now that I realise it, that day may never come if you don’t work for it.

So I would like to finish this post with a metaphor from Casey Neistat  (watch video here). For those who don’t know him, he is a famous YouTuber who decided to stop daily vlogging. He basically talked about feeling like Tarzan and his career/life was like navigating from one side of the jungle to the other.  And the only way he can get to where he wants to be, is by flying from vine to vine. Each vine represents grabbing onto a another opportunity. So, in general, Casey thinks that when you accomplish success or reach 5 million subscribers like he did –  it makes you feel very comfortable and in order to move on/evolve, he needs to completely let go on one vine and grab onto the next.

So with that being said, thank you for reading and please enjoy the recipe.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Vanilla American Buttercream

Makes one 6 inch (or 15cm) vanilla cake. 

Vanilla Cake

• 4 eggs
• 300g (1 1/2 cups) sugar
• Seeds from 1 vanilla bean pod
• 140mL (1/2 cup + 1 tbls) milk
• 70g butter (5 tablespoons) butter, cubed
• 240g ( 1 2/3 cups) plain or all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 170C/350F. Grease and line four 15cm (6 inch) tins with butter and baking paper.
2. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla seeds until pale in colour and tripled in volume; about 5-7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine butter and milk in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter has completely melted. Do not let it boil.
4. On low speed, gradually pour the milk and butter mixture into the eggs. Whisk until just combined.
5. Sift together the flour and baking  powder in a separate bowl. Then sift again into the cake batter. Fold gently until there are no streaks of flour (the batter may look a bit lumpy but that’s fine – just make sure you do not over mix).
6. Divide the batter evenly between four pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Let the cakes cool in the tin for 20 minutes then transfer and invert them onto a wire cooling rack. Set aside to cool completely.

Vanilla American Buttercream

• 250g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 500g (4 cups) icing/powdered sugar
• Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• 2-4 tablespoons milk

1. Beat butter on high speed until pale and lighter in colour; about 5 minutes.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar, a little at a time, beating well in between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
3. Add the vanilla bean seeds and just enough milk to loosen the frosting slightly.
4. Beat on high for a further 3 minutes.

Assembly

• Pink food colouring (optional)
• Silver cachous
• Spinkles
• Edible flowers

1. Place first layer of cake on cake stand or platter. Spread a generous amount of frosting (about 1/4 cup) on top of the layer. Repeat with remaining cake layers.
2. Crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin amount of frosting around the sides and top. Refrigerate the cake for 10 – 20 minutes until firm.
3. With an off set spatula, spread a thick layer of frosting around the cake until evenly covered.
4. Colour the remaining frosting pink (or desired shade) and randomly place dollops of frosting  around the cake. Using a cake/bench scraper, run it around the cake to create smooth layer.
5. Using an offset spatula, create streaks around it to get a painted effect.
6. Transfer reamaning pink frosting into a piping bag with star tip. Pipe swirls around the top edge of the cake.
7. Decorate with silver cachous, sprinkles and flowers.