Simple Cakes for 4th July

Many of us nowadays have friends, colleagues and family members who are American or have American connections.

I thought it might be nice to have a cake to serve at your gathering for this 4th July celebrations when you have your party and fireworks.

The recipe is simple and if I can make and decorate the cake – so can you.

Cake Ingredients:

1 lb SR Flour
1 lb caster sugar
1 lb margarine (or butter)
6 eggs
¼ pint of milk
Vanilla essence

For the buttercream:

1 lb icing sugar
½ lb butter or margarine

Raspberry jam (or jam of your choice)
Blue sugar strands (or blue hundreds and thousands)
Red food colouring

Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and using a mixer blend to a smooth batter.

Grease and flour 2 10” loose bottom cake tins (either round or whatever shape you have) split the mixture between the 2 tins and bake in the oven (gas mark 5, 190c) for around 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown (times may need to be adjusted for fan assisted ovens). Test by pushing a skewer into the centre of the cake and if this comes out clean, its ready. If still a little sticky, give it another 5 mins and test again (in a different place).

Once cooked and cooled a little, release from tins onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

In the meantime, make the buttercream. Simply put the icing sugar and butter in a bowl and whisk until the butter is completely mixed in and it is an off-white colour. Once done, take around 1/3 of the mixture into a smaller bowl and pop in a couple of drops of red food colouring. You should then have a bowl with white butter icing and a smaller one with red.

Spread one half of the cake with the jam and a little of the white buttercream and place the other half on the top.

Then carefully, spread butter icing all over the side of the cake and carefully pick up and cover in blue sugar strands.

Spread remaining icing over the top and then pipe red stripes using the red buttercream.

Finally, make a cut out of a star and hold over the white area and try to put some blue stars on. This is not meant to be a pro job so get the kids involved.

The same mix can be used for buns/muffins so you have plenty of scope.

Job done!!!