Recipes Cake Recipes Sponge Cakes Speckled Vanilla Cake Back to Sponge Cakes Speckled Vanilla Cake by Nielsen-Massey Total Time 3h 5m Prep Time 1h 30m Bake Time 1h 35m Serves 16 Skill Level Easy Dietary Needs Veg Vegetarian 2 Reviews 5 star rating Share Our Favourite This layered vanilla sponge cake has been decorated with a speckled effect, made to look like the shell of an egg. This technique is really fun to do and gives a really nice finish to the buttercream. Method Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 5). Put some water in a cake tin or roasting tin and set in the bottom of the oven. Prepare three 7" sandwich tins by lining with baking parchment. Cream together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or electric hand whisk, until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs in 3 parts, beating well after each addition so that the egg is well incorporated. Add the vanilla. Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon, until the mixture is even. Add the milk and mix. Spoon the mix into tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Whilst the cake is cooling make the vanilla syrup by heating together the sugar and vanilla in a pan until all of the sugar has dissolved. Carefully poke holes in the top of your sponges and pour over some of the syrup allowing the sponge to soak it up. To make the buttercream; beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste until soft and fluffy. Add a small dash of the food colouring gel and mix until you reach the desired colour. You can add a drop of milk to loosen the buttercream if needed. Layer the sponge with buttercream, then coat the whole cake in buttercream. Pop in the fridge to chill before adding an additional layer of buttercream. To get a smooth finish, run a pallet knife under boiling water before smoothing round the cake. Once your cake is smooth. Melt 10g of chocolate in a small bowl. Use a paintbrush to flick specks of the chocolate onto the buttercream to get a specked finish. Apply this technique all over your cake. We've used a Cadbury's flake and some mini eggs to decorate the top. Let's Bake The easiest way to follow a recipe Easter Vegetarian Reviews 23 March 2020 5 star rating Made this for Mother’s Day. It was such a lovely sponge. Light and vanilla-ery this is my new go-to sponge I think. 11 March 2020 5 star rating My very first cake! It turned out so good. Thank you Baking Mad. I'll be making this again for sure. Leave Your Thoughts Your Rating 5 stars4 stars3 stars2 stars1 star Email Your Review Ingredients Metric For the Sponges 400g Unsalted Butter (Softened) 400g Billington's Golden Caster Sugar This is the highest quality caster sugar available and is a great natural alternative to refined caster sugar. It has a warm golden colour from its unrefined nature and is fine grained with a subtle buttery taste, making it perfect for deliciously light sponges, shortbread and macaroons. 6 Free Range Large Eggs 400g Allinson's Self Raising Flour 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract Vanilla extract is a superior flavouring ingredient, derived solely from the vanilla pod by soaking it in alcohol and water. Only vanilla extract has the true flavour and aroma of vanilla pods, producing a fuller, richer taste which will transform the taste of any recipe. Vanilla is also a flavour enhancer so will work with other ingredients and flavours in a recipe to give amazing results! It is a versatile ingredient which can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes, try it in your cakes, cupcakes and buttercream. We always recommend using an extract rather than essence when baking. Our favourite extract is Nielsen-Massey, it gives consistently great results, the vanilla pods are hand picked in the finest growing regions of Mexico, Tahiti and Madagascar and enter a cold extraction process to extract the vanilla from the pod whilst still preserving over 300 flavour compounds. 3 tbsp Whole Milk For the Vanilla Syrup 100g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar This is the highest quality caster sugar available and is a great natural alternative to refined caster sugar. It has a warm golden colour from its unrefined nature and is fine grained with a subtle buttery taste, making it perfect for deliciously light sponges, shortbread and macaroons. 1½ tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste Like vanilla extract, this product is made using the whole vanilla pod. A sugar syrup base (rather than alcohol) gives the product a thicker consistency which allows you to add more delicious vanilla flavour without thinning batters or sauces. Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste has a delicious aroma and taste and includes seeds so is an ideal substitute for vanilla pods in recipes, such as crème brûlée and ice cream, where you want to add the enticing visual flecks of vanilla seeds without the time or effort of using a vanilla pod. Vanilla bean paste can be used as a direct substitute for vanilla extract or vanilla pods: 1 tsp bean paste = 1 tsp extract = 1 vanilla pod Our favourite is the Nielsen-Massey Madagascan Bean Paste. For the Buttercream 300g Unsalted Butter (Softened) 600g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar This is refined white sugar ground to a fine powder with the addition of an anti-caking agent. It dissolves on contact with liquid and is therefore used to sweeten foods that require a smooth texture. It can be used to cover cupcakes and sponges, is easy to colour and flavour and is perfect for butter cream. 1½ tbsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste Like vanilla extract, this product is made using the whole vanilla pod. A sugar syrup base (rather than alcohol) gives the product a thicker consistency which allows you to add more delicious vanilla flavour without thinning batters or sauces. Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste has a delicious aroma and taste and includes seeds so is an ideal substitute for vanilla pods in recipes, such as crème brûlée and ice cream, where you want to add the enticing visual flecks of vanilla seeds without the time or effort of using a vanilla pod. Vanilla bean paste can be used as a direct substitute for vanilla extract or vanilla pods: 1 tsp bean paste = 1 tsp extract = 1 vanilla pod Our favourite is the Nielsen-Massey Madagascan Bean Paste. Tiny Blob Blue Food Colouring Gel For the Decoration 10g Dark Chocolate (Melted) 1 Cadbury's Flake 5 Cadbury's Mini Eggs Utensils 7" Sandwich Tin x3 Mixing Bowl Paintbrush