Hanna Geller's Essential Birthday Cake

I call this “The Essential Birthday Cake”, because this is just that recipe that you need in your armoury for an easy one bowl, no equipment cake, light enough to take icing, but decadent enough to enjoy with a dusting of icing sugar and a cup of something hot for an afternoon pick me up.

"I am sharing this today as a birthday treat to celebrate Mud Australia’s 30th birthday. My love affair with Mud runs deep and I have been slowly building up my collection of pieces in a very devoted fashion since I walked into their Sydney shop in 1999. It an absolute privilege to be included in their birthday celebrations this week and share this recipe in their honour. Here’s to another 30 years of creating beautiful essentials for our tables and kitchens, for your consideration in how you create your pieces, the care to those you work with and how you have made all of our lives that much more colourful."

Hanna Geller

Ingredients:

Cake:
butter for greasing the cake tin
85g dark chocolate (preferably 70% or over)
50g cocoa powder
250ml freshly brewed, hot coffee
210g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
300g caster sugar (granulated)
50g dark muscovado sugar (or dark brown soft sugar)
2 large eggs
125 ml sunflower oil (olive oil also works well)
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g sour cream

Creme Fraiche Buttercream: (enough for a 2 layer cake filled and iced all over)
400g room temperature butter (I always use salted)
200g creme fraiche at room temperature
400g icing sugar (you can add an extra 50g if you prefer it sweeter)
1tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (I like to see the vanilla flecks) pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F)

Butter your cake tin (or tins) and line with parchment paper, making sure that it goes right into the crease of the tin to ensure crisp edges.

Break up the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl with the cocoa powder.

Pour over the hot coffee and stir until everything is melted together and set aside to cool slightly while you get on with the rest of the cake.

In another medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and whisk together with a fork to combine and remove any lumps.

In a large mixing bowl, start with the sugars and whisk or mix together with your fingertips until there are no lumps (muscovado and brown sugar can sometimes clump together).

Add the eggs and oil to the sugars and whisk together until pale, thick and completely emulsified.

Add the vanilla and give it another stir or two.

Pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and incorporate fully before adding the sour cream and mixing again. I usually switch to my rubber spatula at this point in the game.

Add the flour mixture making sure you stir in the same direction the whole time. this ensures a lump free cake batter. Careful not to over-mix as this will keep the cake lighter. This is quite a wet mixture so do not worry.

Pour in to the prepared tin or tins and pop straight into the hot oven. Bake for 45 minutes, but check after 40 minutes to make sure you do not overtake (every oven is slightly different). It will be done when the cake has started to pull away from the sides of the tin ever so slightly, it’s spongy to the touch, a cake tester comes out clean and if you listen carefully, you should not hear too much bubbling from the centre of the cake. Run a knife around the edge of the cake when it comes out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a rack for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tin and allowing to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, make the buttercream.

Place the butter in a stand mixer and whip until smooth and airy. Add the creme fraiche (also at room temperature - this is important) and whip with the butter until combined. Scrape down the sides to make sure there are no rogue lumps of butter and whip one more time for sure.

Slowly add the icing sugar (otherwise it goes all over the place). I do this on a slower speed. Once it is all incorporated, add the vanilla, a pinch of salt and turn the speed up to high, allowing the icing to whip for a good 5-10 minutes until its increased in volume and super fluffy and silky smooth.

Once the cakes are cool, ice to your hearts content.

See more from Hanna here.