My mum's favourite colour is orange so for her Birthday this year, I decided to extend the colour theme from the balloons to the Birthday cake. We're also all huge fans of George's Greek yoghurt. If you haven't tried it you need to. It's thick and creamy but low in fat. We buy ours at the Clayfield markets. What's all this got to do with Birthday cake? Well what better to make a cake out of than one of mum's favourite foods? I came across this Greek yoghurt cake recipe in my Women's Weekly 'Bake' cookbook. With a few tweaks, I created a Greek yoghurt and raspberry cake with citrus yoghurt icing, that was, if I don't say so myself, scrumptious.
I know I go on about it but measuring out all the ingredients before you start really does make the whole cake-baking experience a lot easier.
Just for a change, start by beating together the sugar and butter until it's light and fluffy.
Then, beat through the egg yolks one at a time until they are well incorporated.
Next, stir through the flour and soda until it's all combined.
Add the yoghurt and most of the raspberries. I mashed the raspberries into the batter to give it a bit of a pink-swirl tinge.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form then gently fold them into the batter in two batches.
Divide the batter between the two tins and top with the rest of the raspberries. You can use one large tin if you like but I wanted to sandwich mine together with icing. Of course you can also slice a large cake in half and sandwich the pieces together but this way is a lot easier. In case you're wondering about the little cupcake at the front, I always make a little cupcake when I'm trying a new recipe that's not for me. That way I can try it before anyone else and make sure it's ok.
Bake the cakes for about 35 minutes in a 160C fan-forced oven.
When they're done, transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely. If you're wondering where the cupcake is now the answer would be in my belly. It definitely passed the taste test.
When the cakes are cooled it's time to ice them. I used a butter cream icing and added a tablespoon of yoghurt to cut the sweetness a little. I also used lemon juice in place of milk. I'm reluctant to share how easy the decorating is because it looks so pretty but I got the idea over at I am baker. There are some wonderfully easy tips over there for creating very professional looking cakes.
Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 125 g 4.5oz butter, softened
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 eggs separated
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
- 1 cup light greek yoghurt
- 1 small punnet of raspberries washed and dried
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) fan-forced. Grease and line two small round cake tins.
- Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the sifted flour and soda in two batches then stir through the yoghurt and most of the raspberries.
- Beat the egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites through the batter in two batches then spread the mixture into the tins.
- Top with the rest of the raspberries.
- Bake the cakes about 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Turn the cakes onto a wire rack to cool.
Maria says
Hi Claire,
Love your cake but I have a question of why need half of soda? Is it can help the cake rise up or what?
Claire says
Hi Maria. Yes that's right to help it rise. Claire
Caroline says
I'm thinking of trying this for a first birthday cake. Do you think the sugar could be cut down a little?
Claire says
Hi Caroline. Yes you could definitely cut down the sugar. I also use a little coconut sugar or honey when I bake for my little guy. Coconut sugar can be a little bitter though so I usually add a mashed banana. It's a bit of trial and error though sorry I can't give you a specific answer.
Jess says
Thanks for this recipe, it was delicious! Although, I did pretty much triple the quantity of raspberries.... you can NEVER have too many raspberries :D Your icing looks absolutely stunning. Thank you so much for sharing
Claire says
You're right, you can never have too many raspberries! Glad you liked the cake.
Nic@diningwithastud says
This cake looks so amazing! Perfect layers and the icing is brilliant - I'll bet your mum loved it :)
Claire says
Thanks! I was a little bit proud of the icing on this one and it was so easy.
Jess says
Hey claire, I was just wondering how you did the flowers on the cake? It looks amazing!
Claire says
Hi Jess. Thanks. If you go over to http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/02/rose-cake-tutorial.html you'll see the tutorial I used. I'd explain it myself but her description is much better!
Claire
Erin@TheFoodMentalist says
This looks gorgeous! I am heading to that blog now to check out the cakes. Love the orange colour btw.
Claire says
They're all gorgeous and so simple too.
Inspired2cook says
Wow! What a stunning cake! Good job!!!
molly kelly says
Seriously delicious and very thoughtful of you to do for me Bub!
Mum xx
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
I love those bold orange swirls! They're so pretty! And the inside looks so moist too :D