I don’t really make fancy cakes but you have to make an exception when it’s your grandson’s first birthday! I had to make it the day before so I did a lot of research to find a sponge recipe that would still be moist the following day and I wanted to try a different kind of frosting to a classic buttercream. This is the result – a three layer vanilla sponge cake with apricot conserve and a mascarpone and vanilla frosting. To decorate, I went to good old Etsy, had the cake topper made and found the jungle-themed edible decorations – I used these but there are just so many lovely ideas to choose from. It was a big hit anyway and if you need to make a special birthday cake, I hope it gives you some inspo.

Sponge – makes 3 layers with 18cm cake tins. Set it on a 24cm cake board

• 300g unsalted butter – room temperature
• 300g caster sugar
• 6 eggs – room temperature
• 300g self-raising flour
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 3 tsp ground almonds
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp milk – room temperature
• Butter and baking parchment to line the cake tins
• To fill, a jar of your favourite jam; I used Bonne Maman apricot conserve

Frosting

• 1 kg icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsps vanilla essence
• 320g unsalted butter, softened and chopped into small chunks
• 500g mascarpone

To make…

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan.
• Grease and line the three cake tins.
• To make the all-in-one method in a stand mixer or using an electric whisk, blitz all the ingredients together except the milk until you have a smooth batter. Slowly pour in two tablespoons of the milk until the mixture is dropping consistency. Only add the third tablespoon if necessary.
• To bake the cakes, and this depends on how reliable or large your oven is, you can put 2 on the middle shelf and one on the bottom and move the bottom one up when you take out the top two out or try making all three on fan for about 25 minutes. Check them at 20 minutes – they should be golden-brown and coming away slightly from the edge of the tins. Press them gently, they should be springy to the touch.
• Set aside to cool in their tins for a good 5 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, use either a freestanding mixer or a hand-held electric whisk. Make it gradually by mixing the icing sugar and butter on a low speed until combined and there are no large lumps of butter. Add about a third of the mascarpone and beat until combined and smooth. Add the remaining mascarpone and the vanilla and mix until completely incorporated. Turn the mixer speed up to high and beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy. Cover and set aside.
• To assemble. Only attempt this if the cakes are properly cool or the icing will just slide off. If any of your cakes have domed (it usually means your oven runs a bit too hot) slice a little off so that you can make a nice even stack. The base layer should be base down and then sandwich each layer with the jam, ending with the top cake; the base should form the top of the stack so it’s nice and flat.
• To ice the cake, use a palette knife. Cover with a thin layer of the frosting on the top and sides first to mop up any crumbs. Then, spread the rest of the frosting evenly around the sides and on the top – you shouldn’t be able to see any cake peeping through. Clean and dry the knife. Using the flat tip of the palette knife, add texture to the sides of the cake by gently pulling the palette knife upwards, from bottom to top, to create lines in the frosting. Repeat until the whole cake is completed. Again, using the flat tip of the knife, create the pattern on the top of the cake by starting at the outer edge and pulling the knife over the frosting and into the middle in gentle curved lines.
• Add your decorations by gently popping out the sugar paper designs and arranging them around the cake. Add the topper and candles. Happy birthday!!!

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