The Naked Wedding Cake

Who says a wedding cake will be boring just because it is bare! If you love to bake, you might consider a DIY wedding cake. If you are confident enough to tackle the baking but not the icing, consider creating a wedding cake free of icing. Our naked cake appears in the DIY styling story An Enchanted Evening in the Winter edition of Modern Wedding - due to hit stores next week! We decided to go back to basics and create a six-tiered Victoria sponge wedding cake tower. Dressed with nothing more than icing sugar and summer fruits, the humble sponge is the perfect cake for those who want to avoid a thick, sugary icing. So don't be bound by tradition --   weddings these days are about individuality.

VICTORIA SPONGE

This mixture will make two 20cm cakes or one 25cm and one 15cm cake

2 heaped teaspoons of plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 level teaspoon cream of tartar
Wheaten cornflour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Cake tins required: two 25cm, two 20cm and two 15cm

FILLING AND TOPPING

300ml cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Strawberry jam

Fresh strawberries and flowers if desired

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (160°C fan-forced).
2. Grease and flour two 20cm round cake tins.
3. Place plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar in a (250ml) measuring cup. Fill the remainder of the cup with cornflour.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar at high speed for 7 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds to combine.
5. While the eggs are beating, sift flour mixture three times.
6. Turn mixer to its lowest speed and gently add flour mixture. Beat for one minute until smooth. Divide mixture evenly between cake tins. Place in oven on centre shelf and bake for approximately 13 minutes or until sponge springs back when touched or comes away from the side of the tin.
7. Remove sponges from the oven. Turn the sponges out from tins onto the wire racks and allow to cool completely.

FILLING AND TOPPING: Whip the cream, icing sugar and vanilla essence until  the mixture is smooth. Place one sponge cake on a serving plate - this is the base. Spread the strawberry jam on the base sponge and follow with the whipped cream stopping about 1.5cm from the edges. Place the second sponge (upside down) on top of the base and add a little pressure to make sure it sits firmly. Continue doing this with the other layers until the tower is finished. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with fresh strawberries and roses if desired.

TIPS
1.Tap the cake tins on the kitchen bench to remove any large air bubbles before putting in the oven. 2.When adding the flour to the cake mix, don't beat all the air out of the egg and sugar mixture. 3.For easier removal of cake, add a layer of baking paper to the base of the cake tin. 4.Have everything prepared beforehand because once you start the mixing process you can't stop to find missing ingredients or take any phone calls. 5.Make the cakes the day before and decorate on the day of the wedding.