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I’ve been thinking about naked cakes for a while. Ever since I read an issue of BBC Good Food magazine and Frances Quinn a finalist from GBBO was showing how to create one. Since then they are everywhere. And they are just up my street. I like icing but it’s definitely not my favourite part of a cake and also. I’m not the worlds best cake decorator which means it takes me AGES to create a fancy looking cake. Anyway I was invited to take part in a campaign with Waitrose and I thought it was a great opportunity to try it out and make it a bit fruity and special.
First of all I went to do my shopping at Waitrose.. Choosing completely the wrong time to go at late on a Sunday afternoon when it was close to shutting but I got everything I needed. I was inspired when I first walked in by the Pimms and strawberry display. I’m a sucker for a Pimms so I had to nab a bottle.. I did then go onto buy LOTS of fruit and veggies so it’s ok.
I always love the wide variety of fruits and veggies sold at Waitrose, lots of varieties and exotic fruits as well as my favourite Pink Lady Apples 🙂 I’m a sucker for their herbs too!
I also HAD to buy their rosemary and seasalt foccacia which is more than a little bit special ..ooh and TWO new plants. Chilli and Greek basil.
To start off my naked cake I made up two batches of lemony victoria sandwich cake.
To make enough for this cake you will need:
450g of SR Flour
450g of caster sugar
8 eggs
450g of butter
4tsp baking powder
1tbsp vanilla
2 lemon zests.
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl or stand mixer:
And blend for 2-3 minutes.
I split it between a 23 inch springform pan and two sandwich cake tins.
Bake for 25 mins or so at gas mark 4 until they spring back when pressed.
Whilst I was waiting for my cakes to bake I made up some Pimms summer tarts.
Now back to my naked cake..
Cakes now baked and cooled I split them in half using an awesome tool I picked up from amazon a while back. I then began the process of layering.
First layer used some leftover strawberry/Pimms mix with some jam follows by silky buttercream. For buttercream I used about 150g of butter to 300g icing sugar and a tbsp of vanilla. The next layer used lemon curd and then repeat:
I decorated using icing sugar, berries and Greek basil.. I’m a bit in love with basil in sweet dishes at the moment. Try it!
And whilst I know there are things I will change next time I do this..bigger layers and smaller layers etc etc I’m quite impressed with my first attempt at a naked or not so naked cake.. I can’t really call it naked when it’s covered in berries and herbs can I?
Thanks for sharing!!