What's a birthday without cake? 

Tabara's wonderful friend and pro-baker, Philly's Kitchen, whipped up an extra special cake for our 4th birthday. Inspired by our Cane Hearts (want to make a cane heart? Here's how), and filled with luxurious layers of jam and cream.

Isn't it beautiful? It was so delicious, we had to share. 

Find the recipe below and happy baking, make sure to share your bakes with us on Instagram!

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La Basketry's Birthday Cake

Course: Dessert    |    Servings: 12     |    

Ingredients & Method 

For the vanilla bean sponge

• 8oz/225g Caster sugar
• 8oz/225g unsalted butter, softened
• 8oz/225g self-raising flour
• 4 large free range eggs
• 1tbsp vanilla bean paste

Grease and line three 6 inch or two 8 inch round cake tins. 

Preheat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

Cream together the caster sugar and unsalted butter until combined. Add the eggs and sift in the flour before mixing to combine. Don’t over beat the mixture. Add a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste and beat briefly to combine. 

Spoon into the prepared cake tins and smooth down the top of the mixture. Bang each tin lightly on the work surface before baking in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sponge is risen, golden brown and springs back when touched lightly with your finger. A skewer will come out clean when the cakes are baked. 

Remove the cakes from the oven and turn out onto cooling racks. Cool completely before wrapping in brown paper and foil or popping in a tin. You can freeze the unfilled sponge for up to three months if need be. 

Vanilla buttercream 

• 110g unsalted butter, softened 
• 500g icing sugar, sifted
• 60ml semi-skimmed milk (room temperature)
• 1tsp of good qualify vanilla extract 

Beat together the butter, 250g of icing sugar, the milk and the vanilla extract until completely smooth. This may take some time but it is worth the effort. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat again. If using, add a few drops of food colouring and beat the colour through the buttercream. 

To assemble

Sandwich the layers of sponge together with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream and a thick layer of jam in the flavour of your choice. Be generous with the jam but don’t push it all the way to the edge of the sponge. 

Apply a thin crumb coat of buttercream all over the top and sides of the cake before placing in a very cold fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. This helps to set your crumb coat and means that you can then apply a smooth, crumb-free layer of buttercream to get that perfect finish. 

Remove from the fridge and cover with the remaining buttercream. Smooth using an palette knife or icing smoother. 

Heart shortbreads

• 150g plain flour
• 100g chilled butter
• 50g caster sugar

Roll the dough into a long thin sausage wrapped in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. Then slice tiny, thin discs of shortbread and gently mould them into heart shapes. Place on a baking tray and bake for about 8 minutes but keep an eye on them because how long they take will depend on how thin you have made them.