Mini Eggs & Fingers: Easter Sponge Cake

As Easter is fast approaching and I haven't baked anything in what seems like forever, I thought I would find a fun themed cake to bake for the occasion! I took inspiration from three different places to create this and I am actually quite proud of how it turned out. The original recipe I found was a chocolate cake, however since I don't really like too much chocolate, I decided to switch it up and bake a Victoria Sponge instead.

You Will Need (decoration):

• Around 400g of mini eggs
• 2 packs of each type of chocolate fingers

You Will Need (buttercream frosting):

• 300g of icing sugar
• 150g unsalted softened butter
• Vanilla extract

You Will Need (cake including filling):

• <100g of Icing sugar (not sure how much I used)
• About 4 tbsp strawberry/raspberry jam
• 175g butter
• 175g caster sugar, warmed in the oven
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 175g self-raising flour

Method

Preheat oven to Gas mark 5 (190 degrees celcius) and warm the sugar

Grease two 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tins and line them with greaseproof paper

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

Beat the eggs and blend into the mixture, stirring in a spoonful of flour with the last egg

Sieve in the remaining flour and turn into the two tins

Bake the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes

If the sponge springs back when lightly pressed, then it is done!

Turn on to a wire rack to cool for a few hours.

For the buttercream, beat the icing sugar and butter together until smooth

Add in the vanilla extract and mix in

For the jam, I put it into the mixer until it was smooth, but you don't have to do this

When the cakes are cool, slice the top off of one of them so that it is nice and flat

Smooth the buttercream onto this half, then put a layer of jam on top

Place the other half of the cake on top and that is the Victoria Sponge done!

I left the cake to set for a bit in the fridge whilst I made some icing to stick the mini eggs and fingers on with.

For the icing, add tiny spoonfuls of water to the icing sugar so that it doesn't become runny; you want the icing to be the consistency of PVA glue so that it will hold the decorations on

Now, time to decorate! 

Use the icing to carefully stick the chocolate fingers around the edge of the sponge, then use the rest to add a thin layer to the top to help keep the mini eggs in place

And there we have it! A simple yet fun cake to bake this Easter! 

Recipe credit: 

Buttercream Frosting: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2451647/buttercream

Decoration: http://www.scarletscorchdroppers.com/2015/03/23/chocolate-mini-egg-easter-cake/

Victoria Sponge: Cooking for your freezer - Mary Berry recipe book

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! 

xx