Why Do I Need To Line The Serving Plate With Parchment Paper For The Autumnal Birthday Cake?

Our answer

Nigella's Autumnal Birthday Cake (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) is a sponge cake that is flavoured with maple syrup and filled and coated with a marshmallowy frosting.

The frosting is a 7-minute frosting, where egg whites and sugar (and in this case also more maple syrup) are whisked over a saucepan of hot water until the mixture reaches stiff peaks. This makes a very sticky meringue-like frosting. It is a good idea to line the cake plate with strips of baking parchment (parchment paper) so that when you spread the frosting onto the sides of the cake, it doesn't get smeared all over the plate. Position the pieces of parchment around the bottom layer of sponge so that a little bit of each strip of parchment is anchored under the sponge and the rest of the parchment covers the plate. Once you have coated the cake with frosting, very carefully and gently pull the pieces of parchment out and away from the cake, leaving a nice clean edge around the bottom of the cake and a smear-free serving plate.