About our number cake recipe
What better way to celebrate a special birthday or anniversary with a number cake? You can tweak this simple vanilla cake recipe by adding different flavourings if you prefer. Decorate with a selection of your favourite sweets, biscuits or even flowers to add that personal touch.
This recipe is for a number 1 cake, however, if you are using a different number, follow our simple guide to calculate how much cake mixture you will need to make.
Head over to our birthday collection for more birthday cake recipe ideas
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan, gas mark 3) Grease and line your tin with non-stick baking paper.
Step 2:
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 3:
Add in the eggs one by one, mixing with each addition. You may want to add a tablespoon of the flour with each egg to keep the mixture smooth.
Step 4:
Mix in the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract and continue to beat until the mixture is a smooth dropping consistency.
Step 5:
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until baked throughout, golden and springy to touch.
Step 6:
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire cooling rack.
Step 7:
To make the buttercream, beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. The longer that you beat the buttercream for the lighter and fluffier it will be.
Step 8:
Fill a piping bag fitted with a circular nozzle with buttercream and pipe blobs of buttercream all over the cake.
Step 9:
Slice strawberries and position them along with the raspberries, macaroons and crushed meringues on to the cake. Finish with a flower.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 350g Allinson's Self Raising Flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 6 Free range large egg(s)
- 350g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 350g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 350g Allinson's Self Raising Flour
For the Buttercream
- 600g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 300g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 600g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
For the Decoration
- 6 Macaroons
- 200g Strawberries (washed & hulled)
- 200g Raspberries
- 6 Mini meringues (white)
- A bunch Flowers
Utensils
- Number 1 tin
- Piping bag
- Nozzle
Nutritional Information
per 174g- 862cal Energy
- 48g Fat
- 29g of which Saturates
- 101g Carbohydrates
- 79g of which Sugars
- 7g Protein
- 0.64g Salt
Recipe Reviews
Can I do this the night before? For a party the following day at 2pm?
Yes, you can bake ahead of time. You might want to wrap the sponge if you are leaving it overnight to prevent it from drying out, however if it is decorated then this will help keep the cake ready for the party the next day.
Hi there, can you use Stork margarine instead of butter?
You can switch butter for margarine if you prefer. It is worth noting that this recipe was tested using butter so switching to margarine may affect the overall outcome of the cake and how it bakes.
Used this recipe to make my son's second birthday cake, it was delicious! I swapped a couple of table spoons of flour for cocoa powder and it made it nice and chocolatey too 😊
Used this recipe to make my daughters 30 Birthday cake. Everyone loved it.
I want to keep to this recipe but need to make a Chocolate sponge . Can you advise how much coco powder i need to add please
Could you please tell me recipe amounts for 2 tins? So the number 18 please!
Hi, try our simple guide to help calculate how much mixture you will need https://www.bakingmad.com/baking-tips/how-to-calculate-how-much-cake-mixture-you-need-for-a-number-cake
It’s a good recipe for a deep cake but it needed 55mins in the oven, not 35.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 350g Allinson's Self Raising Flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 6 Free range large egg(s)
- 350g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 350g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 350g Allinson's Self Raising Flour
For the Buttercream
- 600g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 300g Unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 600g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
For the Decoration
- 6 Macaroons
- 200g Strawberries (washed & hulled)
- 200g Raspberries
- 6 Mini meringues (white)
- A bunch Flowers
Utensils
- Number 1 tin
- Piping bag
- Nozzle
Nutritional Information
per 174g- 862cal Energy
- 48g Fat
- 29g of which Saturates
- 101g Carbohydrates
- 79g of which Sugars
- 7g Protein
- 0.64g Salt