Birthday Custard Sponge
by Nigella. Featured in FEASTIntroduction
This cake — simple and homespun, and not above using Bird's Custard Powder for its buttercream filling — has been an essential part of birthday celebrations in my house since my children were little.
This cake — simple and homespun, and not above using Bird's Custard Powder for its buttercream filling — has been an essential part of birthday celebrations in my house since my children were little.
Ingredients
Yields: up to 12 slices
For the Sponge
- 200 grams plain flour
- 3 tablespoons Bird's original custard powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 4 large eggs
- 225 grams soft butter
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 2 - 3 tablespoons milk
For the Buttercream Filling
- 125 grams icing sugar
- 4 teaspoons Bird's original custard powder
- 75 grams soft unsalted butter
For the Chocolate Icing
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- 125 grams caster sugar (or use 50g if using milk chocolate)
- 175 grams dark chocolate
- 1 packet hundreds and thousands
For the Sponge
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch plus vanilla extract (see recipe intro)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- 2 sticks soft butter
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 2 - 3 tablespoons milk
For the Buttercream Filling
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch plus vanilla extract (see recipe intro)
- ¾ stick soft unsalted butter
For the Chocolate Icing
- ¼ cup golden syrup or light corn syrup
- ⅔ cup superfine sugar (or use 50g if using milk chocolate)
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1 packet hundreds and thousands
Method
For the cake
- Make sure everything you need is at room temperature before you start. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/160°C Fan/350ºF, and butter and line two 20cm / 8 inch sandwich tins.
- Put all of the above ingredients except the milk, into a food processor. Process to a smooth batter, and then add the milk a tablespoon at a time to make a soft dropping consistency. Divide between the two cake tins and bake for 20 minutes. The cakes will have risen and feel spookily puffy; this is because of the cornflour in the custard powder.
- Let the tins sit on a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then turn them out on to the rack, peeling away the paper.
For the buttercream icing
- Process the icing sugar and custard powder to get rid of any lumps, and then add the butter, processing again to make the buttercream come together.
- Feed 1½ teaspoons of boiling water down the funnel with the motor running to make the filling easier to spread.
- Then sandwich the cooled sponges together with the custardy buttercream.
For the chocolate icing
- Combine 60ml of water, the golden syrup and sugar in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve over a low heat.
- Let it come to the boil and then take it off the heat.
- Break up the chocolate into small pieces if you are not using chocolate buttons (as I do for cooking, but good quality not confectionary standard), and then add to the pan, swirling it around to cover in the hot liquid. Leave to melt for a few minutes, and then whisk the icing to make it smooth and shiny. Pour over the buttercream filled cake, letting it drip down the sides, and then sprinkle generously with the hundreds and thousands before the icing sets.
- Prong with candles, light them and sing.
For the cake
- Make sure everything you need is at room temperature before you start. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/160°C Fan/350ºF, and butter and line two 20cm / 8 inch sandwich tins.
- Put all of the above ingredients except the milk, into a food processor. Process to a smooth batter, and then add the milk a tablespoon at a time to make a soft dropping consistency. Divide between the two cake tins and bake for 20 minutes. The cakes will have risen and feel spookily puffy; this is because of the cornflour in the custard powder.
- Let the tins sit on a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then turn them out on to the rack, peeling away the paper.
For the buttercream icing
- Process the confectioners' sugar and custard powder to get rid of any lumps, and then add the butter, processing again to make the buttercream come together.
- Feed 1½ teaspoons of boiling water down the funnel with the motor running to make the filling easier to spread.
- Then sandwich the cooled sponges together with the custardy buttercream.
For the chocolate icing
- Combine 60ml of water, the golden syrup or light corn syrup and sugar in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve over a low heat.
- Let it come to the boil and then take it off the heat.
- Break up the chocolate into small pieces if you are not using chocolate buttons (as I do for cooking, but good quality not confectionary standard), and then add to the pan, swirling it around to cover in the hot liquid. Leave to melt for a few minutes, and then whisk the icing to make it smooth and shiny. Pour over the buttercream filled cake, letting it drip down the sides, and then sprinkle generously with the hundreds and thousands before the icing sets.
- Prong with candles, light them and sing.
Additional Information
MAKE AHEAD / STORE:
The sponge layers can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container until ready to ice. The layers can also be frozen, wrapped individually in a double layer of food wrap and a layer of foil, for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw for 2-3 hours at room temperature. The buttercream can be made a day in advance and stored, covered, in a cool place. Can also be frozen in a resealable container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and let come to room temperature before using.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
MAKE AHEAD / STORE:
The sponge layers can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container until ready to ice. The layers can also be frozen, wrapped individually in a double layer of food wrap and a layer of foil, for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw for 2-3 hours at room temperature. The buttercream can be made a day in advance and stored, covered, in a cool place. Can also be frozen in a resealable container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and let come to room temperature before using.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Tell us what you think
Thank you {% member.data['first-name'] %}.
Explore more recipesYour comment has been submitted.
What 22 Others have said
-
Posted by Jus2000 on 7th August 2021
-
Posted by lmoyniha on 26th June 2021
-
Posted by joshv41680 on 28th February 2021
-
Posted by Tifffel on 31st May 2020
-
Posted by kemery82 on 29th October 2019
-
Posted by Seema_rushton on 13th January 2019
-
Posted by DANINGO on 15th December 2018
-
Posted by RobyH on 15th December 2017
-
Posted by countrygirly on 12th September 2017
-
Posted by BKG01 on 30th May 2017
-
Posted by suemfrench on 24th May 2017
-
Posted by cocointhekitchen on 15th December 2016
Show more commentsThis was really easy to make and looks great! I'll be adding this to my regular bakes list. I must note that the sponge did need slightly longer than 20mins to cook, so its worth checking with a skewer before taking it out of the oven.
This is a gorgeous cake, very easy to make and really so delicious! Adult and kids equally enthused!
This cake is my son's favorite, and I make it for his birthday every year. He calls it "doughnut cake". The filling for this is so much easier than the traditional creme patisserie. Add just a spot more water if you want the filling a little looser. This cake is perfection, and is perfect for birthdays!
Made for my husbands birthday - his choice... big Nigella fan! I think he thought it was going to be more custard-y in texture. The kids helped to make it and absolutely love it, even made with just dark chocolate.
This was tasty and an easy cake to make (albeit one with a few steps). I made the sponge in advance and froze it, made the buttercream the night before and the icing on the day, to make the last minute stuff easier. I used milk chocolate and it was a trifle sweet for my husband (but not for me or my daughter). Looked great and tasted okay the next day too, although by Day 3 the tiny sliver remaining was starting to stale.
Really easy and delicious recipe! Sponge stayed moist and the buttercream filling worked really well. My only tip would be make half of the chocolate icing as you only need half to cover the cake...we threw the rest away.
With chopped peanuts this is heaven!
A wonderful birthday cake!
This is my partners favourite birthday cake and I have to make it ever year! He has been lucky and it's been done as a treat other times too. The custard flavour is so subtle.
My children surprised me with this a couple of years ago. It was fabulous! This weekend I am going to make it for a very dear friend. Wish me luck!
Oh Wow what a beautifully light and fluffy cake with a gentle taste of custard. This cake is so easy to make - I love that it is almost all done in the food processor (minimum washing up), super quick to bake, cool and easy to make the heavenly icing. This has become my new go-to birthday cake. Thanks Nigella
I've always been intimidated by recipes that have metric measurements, silly me. I now have a vintage-looking kitchen scale and am amped to try something British. Your cake is the first thing I'm going to bake. So excited!