A VERY Big Birthday Cake: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
A VERY Big Birthday Cake with Summer Berries!
British Sugar & Street Party Recipes
Silver Spoon British Sugar
As a food blogger, I am approached by numerous PR companies wanting me to enter contests, develop recipes and endorse certain brands that they represent; I am also approached regularly by the brands themselves, and my criteria for accepting to work alongside them is simple: The products or services MUST fit in with my readership and enhance what I post on my blog; If the ingredients are British then I am MORE than happy to work with and promote the brand; and finally, there must be a good “two-way” working environment between me and the company or brand…….mutual respect and communication is key and is the success to working well with good PR companies and brands. So, when I was approached by Baking Mad recently, and was asked if I would like to receive some ingredients and make something from their Street Party Recipes range for a contest, and as soon as I knew that the brand that they were promoting was Silver Spoon, and that the product was BRITISH, I accepted the challenge!
Let me just talk a little more about the sugar products I received from Baking Mad and Silver Spoon, so you will understand why I was happy to work with them, as well as make a recipe and enter the baking contest to win a hamper of British Goodies, and why not!
“Silver Spoon sugars are made from sugar beet which is a large pale brown root crop, similar to parsnip which grows in the temperate climates of Europe and North America. The sugar beet that goes into Silver Spoon sugars travels a short distance to the factory (an average of only 28 miles) direct from the fields around Bury St Edmunds in East Anglia. Silver Spoon work with 1,200 local farmers to grown the beet, which is then made into their range of homegrown sugars for families all over the country.
Silver Spoon are committed to reducing energy use, emissions and waste at every stage. All raw materials in the factory are aimed to be transformed into sustainable products.”
A VERY Big Birthday Cake: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
TO get back to my entry for the Baking Contest! All the bloggers involved were sent the “ambient” ingredients in which to make their respective recipes; I was sent some Silver Spoon Caster Sugar, Silver Spoon Icing Sugar and some Allinson’s Plain Flour…..I added the butter, eggs, cream and fresh fruit (berries) myself – the eggs came from my hens and most of the fruit came from my garden………the recipe I chose was one that I knew I could make for a friend as a birthday cake (to feed ten people) – so my chosen recipe was the very challenging Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries. I say challenging, as a Genoise sponge needs lots of elbow grease to make it, at least ten minutes stirring and whisking over a Bain Marie! I have to say that I was THRILLED with the results, and the cake looked suitably celebratory, as you can see by the photos.
Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
The cake was a HUGE success, and I was then promptly asked to make ANOTHER cake, exactly the same cake and the same size, for this weekend, for another friend who is hosting a dinner party – of which I will be a guest! I have a VIDEO of the cutting of the cake, and it makes for amusing viewing, but I will share the video in another post. MY choice of fruit and berries was: Redcurrants (home-grown), Blueberries, Strawberries (about four or five home-grown), Blackcurrants (home-grown) and Kiwi Fruit, which were grown locally. The Genoise sponge was as light as feather and the cream was my own concoction of Chantilly cream, as I added icing sugar AND a little tot of brandy to the mix! The finishing touch was a GENEROUS dusting of icing sugar and the cake was HUGE, but still quite elegant!
A VERY Big Birthday Cake: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
The recipe for the cake in on the Baking Mad site here: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries and the recipe was featured in the first series of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard, so no wonder the cake is AMAZING and so VERY creative! I think I decorated the cake in the “Eric Lanlard Manner” – here is a small snapshot of his cake, taken from the site:
Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
Here’s what I changed from the original recipe when making my cake:
- I used 6 eggs and cut back the rest of the ingredients to the same ratio (the original recipe uses 8 eggs) so the flour and sugar weights were 200g respectively. I then used 40g butter instead of 50g.
- I cut in my smaller cakes into TWO and not THREE as suggested in Eric’ s recipe.
- I made Chantilly cream instead of using whipped cream; and also added a small tot of French brandy to the cream.
- I used all the same berries, but also added kiwi fruit for colour and contrast.
- Everything else was exactly the same as the original recipe, in particular, the method of making Genoise sponge.
A VERY Big Birthday Cake: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
I HIGHLY recommend making this cake for a special occasion or for a summer party, and I am now formally entering it in to the Baking Mad British Baking Challenge! Watch out for my other cake post and the video! Have a GREAT Midweek, and see you later with more Giveaways and some photos for a SPECIAL blog challenge! Karen
A VERY Big Birthday Cake: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
A VERY Big Birthday Cake: Genoise Sponge Cake with Berries
As this is a FUN cake ~ I am adding this recipe to:
Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday link party #23
(Hosted by Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons)
Kathryn says
This cake looks incredible!!
Karen says
Thanks Kathryn! Maybe would do for our Cosmo Awards Party!! 🙂
Ang @ My Golden Pear says
How fabulous does that look. Must be fun trying to serve it up.
Karen says
It was LOTS of fun serving it up Ang! A video will follow….:-)
Mere aka Jelly says
Great cake!!! Perfect now that all my berries are coming in!!! It’s been a fight with the birds over the currants! They can strip a stem in seconds!!! Yum!!!
Karen says
Thanks! I know about birds and currants, but luckily I had enough to go around all of us, that’s US and the birds!
Rachel K says
Looks like a tower of perfection! Bliss!
Karen says
It was a devil to cut I can tell you Rachel! 🙂
Maria @ Feisty Tapas says
It’s my birthday in a couple of weeks, can I please leave you in charge of the cake?? It looks amazing!
Karen says
OKAY! This will be the THIRD time I have made this cake, but JUST for you Maria…..:-)
Mary says
Karen, that cake is stunning! I’d love a slice! You can’t go wrong with cake, in season fruit and cream! I love how you’ve all British products, it’s so important to support the local economy!
Have a lonely week!
Karen says
Thanks Mary – I know have to make another cake now! You have a great week too….Karen
Javelin Warrior says
What a gorgeous cake, Karen – did you mix the batter all by hand? I’m impressed! And I can’t wait to see the cake-cutting video. I’m so glad you take the time to explain why you choose to participate in this challenge and it’s awesome that you work so hard to support local…
Karen says
Thanks JW! I mixed the batter by a hand-held whisk as the electric cord wouldn’t stretch the cooker and the Bain Marie!! It was hard work!
Javelin Warrior says
I bet it was hard work! It’s been a long time since I beat up a cake by hand and that was only because I didn’t have an electric mixer at the time… I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and thanks for creating such amazing food…
Karen says
THANKS again JW for adding my cake to your amazing Food Fetish Friday post……I have been there already and have drolled my way through the posts!
Choclette says
Totally fabulous Karen. Not only are you the queen of tea time treats, but dinner party treats too I think 😉
Karen says
Thanks! Now on to my NEXT one, to be made this Friday! Karen
Dom says
Jesus Wept!!! This is food porn at its most filthy!!! What a towering inferno of a cake. I want to bury my face in its soft sponge and creamy filling… I need to go and lie down…
Karen says
I know Dom, it is pretty damn DIRTY isn’t it?!! As for burying your head in the soft fluffy cream, there is a VIDEO of the cutting of this cake that I need to edit before I make it PUBLIC! I say no more…….Karen
bakingaddict says
Karen this is the best cake I’ve seen in a long time and it’s really cheered me up as I’ve had a stressful few days which is why I’ve been absent online. Your friends are so lucky to have you bake this for them. Good luck with the competition! 🙂
Karen says
OH I am so sorry to hear that you have had a rough few days……I did wonder where you had disappeared to, and twitter was not the same without you! THANKS so much for your LOVELY comments! Karen xxxx
Becs @ Lay the table says
This is beautiful! Fruit is such a wonderful and natural decoration. Glad to see you’re supporting British farmers too – I’m a farmer’s daughter myself and my dad used to grow sugar beet when I was growing up. We never had anything except Silver Spoon. Some supermarkets only supply Tate & Lyle and I refuse to buy it – would rather go to another supermarket!
Karen says
Thanks Becs! Yes, I am PROUD to support a British product such as silver spoon, and it makes sense for food miles too……Glad you like my cake and post! Karen
ashleigh says
wow looks amazing, cant imagine mine would look anything like that if I tried to make it!
Karen Booth says
Lol! Thanks although I am sure you could manage to make this! Karen
Fiona Matters says
That cake is amazing! Sooo many layers. The fruit looks fabulous too. Mmmm. Hungry now and I’ve just had breakfast!
Janice says
Gorgeous cake, I’m all for adding a fruit portion to my cake!