It's the 100th post! Therefore, a special celebration cake :)
I've been meaning to make this cake for about a month now. Between planning two trips and planning sweet delicacies for two weddings, on top of all the usual things, it's been a rather hectic time. Scratch that - I'm halfway down the road with May and I barely have time to sleep. But it's okay - exciting things keeping me up at night. Skyping with friends, writing, lovely movies, and just a tiny bit of the easy entertainment the internet offers in abundance. But this weekend is finalizing my preparations, most of to-do list crossed out, so I had time for a cake.
As the base I used one of my favorite and most customisable cake recipes (it's the same as spelt chai cake and a few others I've made) which is beautifully dense and moist and with blueberry syrup inside carries a distinct fruity flavour. The buttercream is soft and fluffy, also tasting of sweet blueberries. The crispy balls I used for decoration are the only candy I ever get in pick & mix stations in Ikea - mostly for the purpose of decorating though they are really yummy. Their glaze really tastes of summery raspberries. Chrysanthemum was an entirely aesthetic choice: I simply liked the colours and in my head they matched well with blueberry flavour.
The cake with real flowers need to be decorated the same day as eaten but it's quick and simple and definitely worth it - it would do great as a birthday or anniversary gift, and could easily be turned into elegant wedding cake. But if you're celebrating little things - it works perfectly, too! So here I am, celebrating my 100th post :) I shall cut myself a slice and enjoy with a cup of white tea.
blueberry syrup cake
(tall 18 cm/7” cake)
225 g softened butter
200 g sugar
240 g plain flour
4 eggs
100 ml blueberry syrup (hello Ikea!)
2 tbsp baking poweder
cream the butter with sugar
add eggs, one at time, each time mixing until incorporated – it will be a bit lumpy at the end
add flour sifted with baking powder, then add syrup, mix on low speed until smooth
divide the batter into two, pour into cake tins lined with baking parchment paper, and bake for 40 min at 180C
blueberry syrup buttercream
3 egg whites
150 g sugar
20 ml blueberry syrup
180 g room temperature butter
in a metal bowl mix egg whites, syrup and sugar
place the bowl over a pan with boiling water (bain marie) and beat the eggs until stiff with mixer, starting with low speed and gradually changing it to high speed (it should take about 5 minutes, the eggs will stiffen and thicken with time)
put the bowl into cold water to prevent the eggs from getting hot from hot metal/glass and cool down, mixing for a few moments every few minutes for the best texture
beat the butter until it is pale, fluffy and soft
add meringue in 4-5 portions, mix until well incorporated each time
assembly
both cakes, slices in half
a batch of buttercream
50 ml blueberry syrup diluted by 100 ml water
flowers (I used chrysanthemum, make sure they are not poisonous ;)
raspberry crispy balls (hello Ikea again! – or any similar type crunchy candy)
place the first cake layer onto a plate/cake stand, pour 2-3 tablespoons of syrup over it to moisten the cake, spread a thin layer of buttercream
repeat with the remaining cake pieces
roughly spread the rest of buttercream around the cake, the rustic look is what you are looking for
decorate with flowers and candy to your taste
refrigerate but remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving for the best texture of buttercream