I readily admit that posh, celebration-worthy cake baking is not my strongest suit but, after being quoted up to £160 to have one made, I decided to see what I could whip up for my lovely daughter’s 30th birthday party. This is the #TheFridayRecipe result…not too shabby for well under £20 I reckon!

The delicious chocolate and vanilla sponge cake is made in a standard 10-inch circular bundt mould, finished with a ready-made chocolate mirror glaze, fresh strawberries,  blueberries and a bespoke cake topper bought from the wonderful Inspired by Alma.

• 225g butter
• 450g golden caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 280g plain flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 20g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 250ml vanilla yoghurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 270g pot of ready-made Cake Decor chocolate mirror glaze from Waitrose
• Fresh strawberries and blueberries to decorate
• Optional: cake topper and birthday candles

To make…

The secret to a perfect bundt cake is all in the preparation of the tin. Ensure that you use a good heavy gauge tin, evenly and thoroughly buttered and then coated with a thin film of flour. This will ensure that it comes easily out of the tin once it’s cool, with a light shiny crust and nothing left behind in the tin to spoil the outline pattern.

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Grease and flour the inside of the bundt tin. Get into all the little nooks and crannies – tip out any excess flour.
3. In a separate bowl, measure out the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix thoroughly.
4. Mix the vanilla yoghurt and vanilla extract together in a jug.
5. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together thoroughly with a fork.
6. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. You could use a Kitchen Aid or a hand-held electric whisk for this.
7. Pour the eggs into the sugar and butter mix in a slow, steady stream on a low setting. The mix will become much fluffier. Add a tablespoon of the flour if it looks like it’s starting to split.
8. Sift in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the vanilla yoghurt. Repeat until all the flour and yoghurt is used up. Fold it in gently with a spatula now as over-mixing at this stage will make the cake too dense with too many air pockets which can spoil the exterior outline of the cake.
9. Spoon the mix evenly into the greased and floured bundt tin. Tap it down gently on the kitchen top to ensure the batter is evenly distributed and completely fills the tin. It should only be filled three-quarters of the way up the sides.
10. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly.
11. Place on a rack and leave the cake to cool for at least half an hour before carefully turning it out of the tin.
12. Once the cake is thoroughly cooled, you can cover in the glaze. I made the cake the day before and covered it with a lid. I added the glaze the morning of the party. Follow the instructions on the pot – just heat it in the microwave until runny and pour evenly over the cake. Transfer it to your cake stand or serving plate, fill the centre with blueberries, top with whole strawberries and decorate the sides with strawberries cut in half, vertically. Keep it in a cool spot until you need it but not in the fridge and try not to touch the glaze.

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