Easy Beginner Birthday Cake With Raspberry Jam & Vanilla Custard Filling

I tell ya ... the best things in life are homemade.

You know that they are made with love. :-)

I was so excited to bake a birthday cake for my Little Guy's 2nd birthday (May 7th). It's more special when it comes from mom and not some bakery.

I really love this cake recipe! It's easy, quick to put together, and it tastes DE-LISH! I've been making it for the past year and I always get rave reviews.

The secret is to beat the sugar/butter mixture for 8-10 minutes with an electric mixture. This will give you a beautiful white texture suitable for a wedding cake. But if you whisk it by hand till creamy, then you will get a golden, crumbly cake. Either way, the cake tastes delicious! Make a day ahead for best results.

MAKE SURE TO READ beyond the cake recipe to find out how to stabilize the whipped cream frosting and how to easily put chocolate shavings on the side of the cake!

Simple White Cake

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

3/4 cup (175 g) sugar
1/2 cup (125 g) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (265 g) all-purpose flour
1-3/4 tsp (6 g) baking powder
1/2 cup (125 ml or 1/4 L) milk
1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F / 180 deg C. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch square pan (but a round pan will also work).

2. In medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixture for 8-10 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth (batter will be thick). Pour or spoon batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes in preheated oven or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. Remove from oven and let completely cool. Carefully cut the cake in half and spread the jam on the lower half.

MAKES 12 larger pieces or 16 smaller pieces.

Vanilla Custard Filling
(my own creation - I couldn't find a recipe I liked so I made my own)

1 egg
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup (250 ml or 1/2 L) milk
2 tbsp butter
1-1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 pkg vanilla sugar (or substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract)

1. Beat egg and sugar with electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Add milk; set aside.

2. Melt butter over medium heat and add flour to make roux.

3. Add egg mixture and stir with whisk till thickened. (This will take a little time, but by cooking it slowly will prevent lumps.)

4. Remove from heat and add vanilla sugar. Cool a few minutes before using.

5. Spread on top the jam layer and as close as possible to the edges. Place in fridge for 15-20 minutes to set the filling. Cover with the top of the cake.

Whipped Cream Frosting
(my own creation with the help of this site here)

1/2 tsp plain gelatine (Secret ingredient to stabilizing the whipped cream!)
1 tbsp (15 ml) cold water
1 cup (250 ml or 1/2 L) whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 pkg vanilla sugar

1. In a small heat resistant dish, soak gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes.

2. Place solidified gelatine in a small pan of very hot water just until the gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool to about body temperature. If the gelatine is still hot when you add it to the whipping cream, the cream will deflate and is not salvagable.

3. Add icing sugar and vanilla sugar to cream and beat till slightly thickened but before soft peaks form. Add the cooled gelatine and continue beating till stiff peaks form.

4. Quickly spread the frosting on the cake before it sets, but you do have time to smooth out the surfaces.

5. Add the chocolate shavings on the sides.


Don't give up on me just yet! Just one more useful cake decorating tip that I learned on tv.gusto (Germany's version of Food TV).


Chocolate Shavings
(adapted from tv.gusto - Germany's Food TV)

Choose a good quality chocolate that you like, and using a potato peeler, scrap the edge of the chocolate to make the shavings. Scoop them up onto the spatula.

Gently rub them on the side of the cake starting from the bottom up. Continue all the way around.

Final Touches ~ I decided to use sprinkles on top of the cake because I could not find the gel to write Happy Birthday. But that didn't matter to my two year.

He was too eager to blow out the candles ...

... and then eat the cake too.

Happy Birthday Little Guy!

Love, mom