last post for my mom's birthday dinner... i promise.
well, this really was the finishing touch though. birthday cake! or, you could just make this as a cake for no real reason. well, your reason could be cake. i made cake because cake. sounds legit.
when i was brainstorming for the birthday cake, i decided i wanted to forego my usual cheesecake route (since my family isn't too into cheesecake anyway) and go for something lighter, something a elegant and a little rustic. something understated that tended a little more towards the natural ingredients side. and what better cake to base this on than victoria sponge?
well, this really was the finishing touch though. birthday cake! or, you could just make this as a cake for no real reason. well, your reason could be cake. i made cake because cake. sounds legit.
when i was brainstorming for the birthday cake, i decided i wanted to forego my usual cheesecake route (since my family isn't too into cheesecake anyway) and go for something lighter, something a elegant and a little rustic. something understated that tended a little more towards the natural ingredients side. and what better cake to base this on than victoria sponge?
i initially wanted to poach pears for the cake, but when i saw fresh figs on sale in the supermarket.... i was drawn to it the way london tipton was drawn to shiny silver spoons. (cyber-five is you got that reference. HECK YES 2000's DISNEY SHOWS!) I poached the figs the same way i poached the pears, minus the nutmeg. it really was quite easy, and it the time it took to poach the figs was a lot shorter than the time to took to poach the pear halves. i them simmered down the syrup after letting the figs cool in the syrup to about 1/4 of it's original amount, and brushed it onto the sponges before layering.
i combined the poached figs with slivered almonds and slightly sweetened whipped cream. honestly quite easy. i doubled a recipe for victoria sponge cake and ended up with three 5 1/2 in. cakes, two of which i took off the top of and them sliced horizontally. i then assembled the cake by brushing on a layer of fig syrup, then spread on some whipped cream. i then assembled a layer of poached fig, then layer on the next layer of cake after brushing on some syrup. and then it goes on. slivered almonds on the second layer. cake, syrup, cream, fig, cake, syrup, cream. fresh figs and slivered almonds were used to decorate the top. and...that's about it! really quite simple stuff.
the slightly sweetened cream and the poached and fresh figs really do complement each other, and the cake itself is elegant and somewhat british. give it a go!
(have another photo of fresh figs because i think they're really pretty.)
recipe after the jump :)
the slightly sweetened cream and the poached and fresh figs really do complement each other, and the cake itself is elegant and somewhat british. give it a go!
(have another photo of fresh figs because i think they're really pretty.)
recipe after the jump :)