Now that my blog is back up and running, I thought it would be nice to share some of my favourite bakes from over the summer! I know I’m getting all excited about Autumn, but this Summer Fruits cake was one of my favourites from the warmer weather, so I just had to share it!
It’s a fairly huge cake with 6 layers, and a bit of a surprise when you cut into it! Each layer is a different colour, and ombre running from pale pink down to a darker purple. The base is a classic sponge, with each layer smothered buttercream and fresh fruit. I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. I used shallow cake tins and baked each layer separately, I used these tins and they worked nicely! For the cake batter, it’s a fairly basic sponge. I made a large bowl of mix and then separated it into smaller bowls to add the colouring.
For this cake, you will need:
3 cups plain flour
3 cups caster sugar
3 cups butter
8 eggs
2 tsb vanilla
1tsp baking powder
6 different gel food colours (this can be any colours you like, I used three different pinks and purples, and for two of the bowls I just used the same colour but in different concentrations)
4-5 cups icing/powdered sugar
½ cup softened butter
½ cup milk (or alternative, almond milk works well!)
4 cups of fresh fruit, I used Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries and Raspberries
Preheat the oven to 180oC
Make sure the butter is at room temperature or a little bit melty, as it will help it all mix together. Add the sugar to the butter and mix until light and fluffy. Then add in the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla. Once fully mixed, add in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently until it’s all mixed together. Then separate the mix equally into 6 different bowls. Add in a tiny bit of the gel food colouring and mix in until you get the colour you’re after. You really don’t need much of the gel to get a strong colour, they are so much better than the liquid dyes! For some of the shades, I just used a tiny bit of gel to get a light shade, and then added more to the next bowl to get a darker colour for the ombre effect between the cakes. Bake them in the oven for 12-15 mins until the top starts to go lightly golden brown. Check they are ready by inserting a skewer, and if it comes out clean without cake mix stuck to it then you are good to go! Bake all 6, and then leave them to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, make the buttercream:
Mix 1/4 cup of the icing sugar at a time into the butter until it’s fully mixed together. When the mixture gets too thick, add a teaspoon of milk at a time to loosen it up. Continue to mix until you have a thick but spreadable consistency that forms peaks when lifted, but is still easy to spread over the cake!
For the fruit filling, slice the fruit quite thinly. I sliced the blueberries in half and the bigger strawberries three times. The raspberries and blackberries get quite gooey so just slice them in half, and you might need to scoop them onto the cake with a spoon!
When your cakes are cooled (and I mean completely cooled, otherwise the buttercream will just run off!), pop your bottom layer onto a large plate, or cake stand if you’re feeling fancy! Spread about a heaped dessertspoonful of the buttercream on top of the cake, and smooth over with a spatula. Pick a fruit, I chose mine by colour so put the blackberries at the bottom, and spread across the cake. Then put the next layer on top, and repeat! For the fruit, the bottom layer was blackberries, then blackberries and blueberries, then blueberries and raspberries, then raspberries and strawberries, then just strawberries. When you get to the top layer, spread the buttercream all over the whole cake, smoothing down the sides. Top with an arrangement of fruit, and serve!
My favourite thing about this cake is how beautiful it is when you cut into it. Especially if you’re serving to guests, it’s such a lovely surprise to cut into it and see such bright colours!
If you give this cake a try, please do send me a picture on twitter (@Zozeebo) as I would love to see it!
