Vanilla Cake

The ultimate vanilla cake that’s incredibly moist and decadently sweet - yet you’d never know it’s gluten free!

What better way to celebrate your special occasion than to spoil your loved ones with this fluffy party cake, with extra sprinkles of course.

Gluten Free · Nut Free

Serves 12

Ingredients

150g / 1 cup Anything But Ordinary Plain Flour

40g / ¼ cup GF custard powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon bi-carb soda

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon golden flaxmeal

70g butter, softened

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

150g caster sugar

1 egg (at room temp)

160mls / ⅔ cup buttermilk (at room temp)

Buttercream Frosting

125g butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

240g GF icing sugar mixture, sifted

1 tablespoon milk

Chocolate Icing

205g / scant 2 cups GF icing sugar

30g / 3 tablespoons cocoa

10g / 2 teaspoons butter

1 tablespoon boiling water

1½ tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Grease the sides of a 20cm/8inch deep round tin and line the base with a circle of baking paper.

Sieve the Anything But Ordinary Plain Flour, custard powder, baking powder, bi-carb soda, salt and flaxmeal. Whisk together.

In the bowl of a mixer or a bowl suitable for hand held beaters, add the butter and vanilla and beat on medium high speed for a few minutes until it’s very light in colour.

Add the sugar and beat for a couple of minutes until light and creamy.

Add the egg and beat just til combined.

Add a third of the flour and half of the buttermilk and beat just long enough to mix together. Repeat this with another third of flour and remaining buttermilk. Add the last third of flour and beat for about 30 seconds til a smooth and fluffy consistency.

Pour into the prepared tin and shake the tin a little to level the cake batter.

Bake for 35-37 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then run a knife around the side to help break the cake away from the tin. Put a wire rack on top then carefully flip it over to invert the cake. Leave to cool.

Spread with icing of choice once completely cool.

Store covered for a couple of days at room temperature or in the fridge if buttercream frosting used.

The recipe can be doubled to make two round cakes. They can be sandwiched together and covered with our Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

Beat the butter and vanilla on medium high speed in a small bowl of an electric mixer until very light in colour.

Gradually beat in half the icing sugar with the milk then add the rest of the icing sugar. Beat really well until a smooth, light texture.

Store in the fridge.

Bring back to room temperature when ready to use.

This recipe is enough for a light coat on the Basic Vanilla Cake. If making a larger cake or double the Vanilla Cake recipe then triple this Buttercream recipe to give enough to sandwich the two cakes together as well as cover the whole cake.

The frosting can also be tinted to a colour of your choice.

Chocolate Icing

Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, add butter, boiling water, vanilla and milk and stir briskly with a fork til smooth.

Tip over cake and using an icing spatula level the top while pushing excess icing over the edge.

Smooth the icing around the side of the cake and sprinkle dessicated coconut on top.