Eric Lanlard’s Birthday Cake

With the help of Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard, I was able to produce this incredible cake at Total Greek Yoghurt’s Birthday party. For someone who’s talent lies in tasting and can count the number of times I’ve baked on one hand, I think I done pretty well. The cake was well received by all and I could quite happily tuck in to a slice as we speak. If you would like to sample some of Eric’s gorgeous cake, you can visit his London cafe ‘Cake Boy’ which we previously reviewed here. Why not try your hand at making it yourself? It’s surprisingly easy, promise, even if I did have the help of a pro.

The inside of my delicious cake!
The inside of my delicious cake!

This recipe is for a 8” cake  which serves approx 12 people

 For the vanilla sponge:

250g TOTAL Greek yogurt

300g unsalted butter

300g golden caster sugar

5 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

350g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

For the yogurt cream:

500ml whipping cream

50g golden caster sugar

IMG_08902 tsp vanilla extract

 To build the cake:

500g fresh raspberries + some for decoration

2 boxes of white chocolate cigars

125g redcurrants

125g blueberries

125g strawberries

1 pomegranate, quartered

Edible glitter and gold leaf to decorate (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4. Butter and line 2 x 20cm (8”) cake tins.

2. In a large bowl using an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well. Fold the vanilla into the mixture. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in until nice and smooth.

3. Divide the mixture between the 2 prepared tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

4. For the yogurt cream: whip the cream to a stiff peak. Whisk the sugar and vanilla into the yogurt and then fold the cream in gently. Keep to one side.

5. To build the cake: trim and slice the vanilla sponges horizontally to give 4 x 1.5cm (3/4 “) thick layers. Line a 20cm (8”) round spring form tin with baking paper. Place a layer of cake on the bottom. cover with a layer of the yogurt cream (approx 0.5cm (1/4 “) thick). Cover with fresh raspberries then cover with more cream and repeat till you reach the top of the tin. Cover the cake and remaining cream with film and leave to chill for at least 6 hours in the fridge.

6. To decorate, gently remove the cake out of the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Using the rest of the cream and a palette knife spread a small layer all over the cake to cover. Stick the chocolate cigars to the cream all round the edge.

7. Decorate the top of the cake and the serving plate with the redcurrants, blueberries, strawberries, pomegranate quarters and any remaining raspberries. Add a touch of edible glitter and gold leaf for extra glam!!!

Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Eric Lanlard and his masterpiece
Eric Lanlard and his masterpiece

 NOTE: When assembling the cake layers, I soaked the sponge with Ouzo using a kitchen brush before spreading the filling on top followed by the raspberries and another layer of sponge. Even though I disliked Ouzo, the subtle alcohol flavour gave a wonderful taste. I would love to try doing this with a spirit I like such as hazelnut to see if it work just as well.

Let us know how you got on and remember to send us a picture of your masterpeice to info@livelifelovecake.com

Living life, loving cake,

H x