Dreamy Vanilla Decadence

I must confess to being attracted to a decadent cake of nearly any flavour, and the addition of layers screams decadence like nothing else. The downfall is that they are often time-consuming and expensive to make because of the long ingredient list. Further to that, the calorie count can be through the roof, so a keen baker must wait for an occasion where there are more than two present to share the love! A recent extended family gathering provided such an opportunity and I stumbled on a Dreamy Vanilla Cake recipe that looked impressive but was actually very simple to put together and the ingredients were all inexpensive, everyday products that you may not even have to leave the house for. What more could you ask for? Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a whirl:

Dreamy Vanilla Cake
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
⅔ cup milk
Fluffy meringue icing
3 eggwhites
1 ½ cups caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 180° C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper. Using an electric beater, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
2. Sift half the flour over butter mixture. Stir to combine. Add half the milk. Stir to combine. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Spoon into prepared pan. Smooth top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (cover cake with foil if over-browning). Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.
3. Make icing. Place eggwhites, sugar, vanilla and ¼ cup cold water in a large heatproof bowl. Whisk to combine. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Using an electric hand mixer, beat eggwhite mixture for 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Remove bowl from heat. Beat for 5 minutes or until cool.

4. Using a serrated knife, cut cake into thirds horizontally. Place base on a plate. Spread with ⅔ cup icing. Repeat with middle layer and another ⅔ cup icing. Sandwich with cake top. Spread remaining icing over cake. Serve.
Source: Super Food Ideas Dec 09/Jan 10

Note: A few leftover bits held up well and may have even taken on a nicer flavour as Ros, my master baker pal, thought she detected a hint of white chocolate the following day. Always good to know if a cake can stand the test of time, or at least a day and a half in this case.