Cake in a Cake

I came across this idea on Bake it in a Cake and was immediately desperate to give it a go. Unfortunately, the website was undergoing construction and there were no recipes regarding how to make this cake. Alongside this, they had made cupcake versions and I wanted to make a full cake.

I googled the idea and came across a version on Butter Hearts Sugar. This recipe was for a loaf cake which was what I was looking for but it used heart shaped cutters that I didn't have. This was the only website which clearly explained the steps in making such a creation, go have a look!

Due to no recipes, no heart shaped cutters and generally no idea whatsoever, this cake became completely about compromise which unfortunately became it's downfall.

I followed a Vanilla Sponge recipe from The Caked Crusader and then adapted it to fit the instructions from Butter Hearts Sugar by splitting 1/3 of the batter and colouring it red. At this point I became confused, the sponge recipe was to be cooked for over an hour but once splitting the batter, I had to cook the red sponge for 20 minutes. Aswell as this, one recipe said 180 degrees and one 160 which I set my oven to. After about 16 minutes, the cake was browning and a skewer came out clean.

Although all of the signs were correct, the cake smelt eggy and to me, that means undercooked. I figured this would be ok as it was going back in the oven and continued...

I used my cutters and got as many as I could from the sponge, which turned out to be just enough for my small loaf pan. I then layered half of the original batter into the pan and started to assemble the circles

I then layered the remaining batter over the top and the secret was concealed!

This went in the oven and, although the recipe said 1 hour 20 minutes, this was for a round sponge and my loaf tin was rather small. After about an hour, a skewer was coming out clean.

The sponge recipe from The CC came with a syrup and a buttercream but I chose not to use these as the amount of buttercream was too much to cover such a small cake and, as it was nearing midnight, I really couldn't be bothered to make the syrup (sorry!).

Having gone to bed with an unfrosted cake (not literally), I decided it needed a bit of buttercream as when I cut into the cake, it was incredibly dry. This may well have been because I chose to ignore the use of the syrup but I genuinely believe it was the fact that some of the cake is baked twice. The white (and cooked once) sponge is tasty but the red sponge is dry and tastes peculiar, obviously not helped by being cooked twice, once undercooked.

I whipped up a buttercream (also from The CC), but put in some strawberry jam to match the reddish theme. This provided a good colour but little flavour. I figured the cake had been so much about compromise that a little more wouldn't hurt and I added 1/4 teaspoon of Strawberry flavouring.

The cake is also too crumbly to cut!

With thanks to Bake it in a Cake, The Caked Crusader and Butter Hearts Sugar for all of their recipes and my complete apologies for ruining what could have been an awesome cake!!

I have provided a link to all of the full recipes above but have written the recipe below in the way that I used them.

Post Blog Update: I allowed the cake and buttercream to do their thing in the fridge over night and the buttercream has matured somewhat into a more delicate flavour. The cake has also moistened completely and has an all round better flavour. Upon reflection, I really like this cake!!

Ingredients:

For the cake:
250g unsalted butter- room temperature
250g golden caster sugar- I used half regular and half golden as I had run out of golden
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod- I substituted these with another teaspoon of vanilla extract
5 eggs
85g plain flour
100g full fat Greek yoghurt
250g self raising flour
3 tablespoons milk- I used semi skimmed
A few drops of red food colouring

For the buttercream:
80g unsalted butter- room temperature
200g icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons of milk- I used two
Strawberry jam- I used 3, unseeded is best
A few drops of strawberry flavouring- I found 1/4 teaspoon was far too much

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160˚C/fan oven 140˚C/320˚F/Gas mark 3

Lightly grease a 8 inch square cake tin and a loaf tin

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl and beat until they are light and fluffy; you will also see the colour changing to a pale cream. Don’t skimp on this stage as it’s important to get lots of air into the mix
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. If the mix starts to curdle spoon in some of the plain flour
Beat in the yoghurt
Fold in both flours using a metal spoon; this gives you a better cutting edge than a wooden spoon. I just continued with my KitchenAid flat beater
Fold in the milk
Put 1/3 of the mixture into a separate bowl and colour with red food colouring. I went all out here and used quite a few drops!
Spread the red cake mix into the square cake tin and bake for about 20 minutes or until it springs back when poked in the centre
Allow the red cake to half cool in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cake is cold cut out your chosen shape using a cookie cutter
Pour half of the remaining cake mixture into the loaf cake tin and smooth out. Press the hearts cutouts in a upright line down the middle of the pan
Pour over the rest of the cake mix and smooth the surface
Place in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean- mine took an hour
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack until cool
Meanwhile, make the buttercream by placing the butter in a bowl and sieving over the icing sugar. Then, add the milk and strawberry jam and beat until smooth and light. Add the strawberry flavouring to your preference
Smooth the buttercream over your cake
Enjoy!