In honour of our 50th birthday, we're celebrating with a recipe from Sandro Farmhouse’s new book Good Vibes Baking, which is filled with over 75 recipes to elevate your baking skills and lift your spirits.
Fancy trying out Sandro’s Signature Splatter Cake? Download the full recipe below.
SERVES 14
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SPONGE
100g (1 cup) cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee granules
50ml (31/2 tbsp) hot water
450g (21/4 cups) golden caster sugar
450g (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened 8 eggs
450g (scant 31/2 cups) self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
1 batch Vanilla Buttercream
FOR THE SPLATTERS
200g (7oz) white chocolate, chopped
300ml (1¼ cups) double cream
5 different gel or paste food colourings
3 x 20cm (8in) round cake tins, greased and lined
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4).
2. Add the cocoa powder, coffee granules, and hot water to a small bowl and whisk to a smooth paste.
3. Beat the sugar and butter together until lighter in colour, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate and coffee mix, and then sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and fold through.
4. Divide amongst the three tins and bake for 40–45 minutes, or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. When the cakes are cool, level them with a knife to make them easier to stack. Then, slice each cake in half horizontally to give you six layers in total.
6. Spread some buttercream onto five of the cakes and stack them, putting the plain layer on top.
7. Crumb-coat the cake with more buttercream and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes.
8. For the chocolate splatters, add the chocolate to a bowl and heat the cream in the microwave for 1–2 minutes until just below boiling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes, then stir to a smooth ganache.
9. Divide the ganache amongst five bowls and colour each a different colour with food colouring (go as cute and pastel or as bold and vibrant as you like!), then let cool to room temperature.
10. Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream, giving it a smooth, sharp finish, and then refrigerate again until the buttercream hardens, around 20–30 minutes. This will give you a great canvas for your artistic splatters.
11. Now to have fun! Use a teaspoon to flick the coloured ganache all over the cake (if it’s a bit thick, you can blast it in the microwave at 10-second intervals to loosen it).
12. Let the ganache set for 15 minutes on the cake before serving.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SPONGE
100g (1 cup) cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee granules
50ml (31/2 tbsp) hot water
450g (21/4 cups) golden caster sugar
450g (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened 8 eggs
450g (scant 31/2 cups) self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
1 batch Vanilla Buttercream
FOR THE SPLATTERS
200g (7oz) white chocolate, chopped
300ml (1¼ cups) double cream
5 different gel or paste food colourings
3 x 20cm (8in) round cake tins, greased and lined
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4).
2. Add the cocoa powder, coffee granules, and hot water to a small bowl and whisk to a smooth paste.
3. Beat the sugar and butter together until lighter in colour, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate and coffee mix, and then sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and fold through.
4. Divide amongst the three tins and bake for 40–45 minutes, or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. When the cakes are cool, level them with a knife to make them easier to stack. Then, slice each cake in half horizontally to give you six layers in total.
6. Spread some buttercream onto five of the cakes and stack them, putting the plain layer on top.
7. Crumb-coat the cake with more buttercream and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes.
8. For the chocolate splatters, add the chocolate to a bowl and heat the cream in the microwave for 1–2 minutes until just below boiling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes, then stir to a smooth ganache.
9. Divide the ganache amongst five bowls and colour each a different colour with food colouring (go as cute and pastel or as bold and vibrant as you like!), then let cool to room temperature.
10. Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream, giving it a smooth, sharp finish, and then refrigerate again until the buttercream hardens, around 20–30 minutes. This will give you a great canvas for your artistic splatters.
11. Now to have fun! Use a teaspoon to flick the coloured ganache all over the cake (if it’s a bit thick, you can blast it in the microwave at 10-second intervals to loosen it).
12. Let the ganache set for 15 minutes on the cake before serving.
About the book
Lick the spoon, feel the vibes, and bake with joy with the runaway star of GBBO 2022, Sandro Farmhouse. A firm believer in the positive, mood boosting, delectable, and therapeutic effects of home baking, Sandro's debut cookbook encourages you to loosen up, pick up the whisk, and bake again.