Simple Food: Birthday Cake

It's September and you may or may not know what this means. September means fall is just around the corner {in most states anyways} and we shall begin our fall baking. It also happens to be j's birth month, and this year we will be celebrating his first birthday. 

Even with fall fruits ripening and practically demanding to be baked into delicious deserts, I am still a bit partial to summer and its fruits. Like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries to name a few. The heat wave outside might have something to do with it. Just sayin'. 

Fall or not, I wanted to bake his first cake even if that meant we had to melt trying. I selected a wonderful sponge cake that I had made before, similar to this one. A sponge cake to me also reminds me of my childhood, and I'm thinking of this birthday cake as a little tribute to my growing up years. 

j's Sponge Cake

I doubled the cake part of the recipe and baked them separately, instead of slicing the baked cake for layering.  I guess it all comes down to the size of your pan.

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 stick plus 1 TBSP butter, melted

3/4 c warm milk

4 eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla extract 

For the filling and the fruit:

1 c blueberries

4 TBSP jam (preferably the same type as the fruit you are using) 

1 tsp lemon juice

2 TBSP + 1 TBSP powdered sugar

3 c heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and 1 TBSP of the baking powder. Mix well. 

Add the butter and then the warm milk. Combine well. 

Add the egg yolks and mix. 

2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until the first peaks show, then add the remainder of the baking powder. Beat until stiff. 

3. Combine the dough with the egg whites and carefully work them together. 

Carefully pour into springform or bundt pan. 

4. Bake for one hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

5. After removing the cake from the oven, let it cool a few minutes in the springform, then cool completely on a rack. 

6. During this time you can begin preparing the fruit - washing and hulling {if needed}. Dice about half the fruit, the other half will be used for decorating. 

On the DICED half, sprinkle lemon juice and 1 TBSP of the powdered sugar.

7. In a large bowl, whip the cream together with the remaining 2 TBSP powdered sugar

8. When the cake is cooled, slice the cake horizontally {or do what I did, bake two separate cakes}. Place one-half on a serving plate. 

9. Spread the jam over the bottom half of the cake, top with the diced fruit. Add about a third of the whipped cream on this. Top with the top half of the cake. Now thickly spread the rest of the whipped cream on  and around the cake {if desired}. Decorate with the rest of the fruits. 

This cake is best kept cool. 

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