Sofia’s Celebration Cake
A European bakery inspired sponge cake made with my favourite combination of simple vanilla custard, raspberry jam, sweetened vanilla whipped cream and chocolate shavings! What started as a cake requested each year for my birthday, blossomed into my favourite cake to celebrate any milestone year round!
Growing up, my mother would create a large rectangular baking tray of sponge cake, filled with a creamy vanilla custard with a thin layer of strawberry/raspberry jam, and topped with a healthy serving of sweetened whipped cream (or extra custard!)! It would then be my turn to help decorate the cake with whipped cream, chopped chocolate/nuts and sprinkles! It was my favourite day every year!
This cake is light, airy, and deliciously creamy! It is simple to make, and even easier to eat – you may find yourself coming back for thirds!!
I love the flavour of vanilla cream in this cake however you can easily add 1 tbsp of cocoa to the custard to make a chocolate cream and/or flavour the whipping cream with your favourite extract! I also often make this cake only with vanilla custard (omitting the jam addition) and love it!
To make this celebration layer cake you will need:
Cake
- Eggs
- Water
- Flour + Starch (cornstarch or potato starch)
- Sugar
- Cake essentials: Vanilla, Pinch of salt
Filling/Topping
- Milk (2% or higher)
- Heavy/Whipping Cream
- Sugar
- Thickener: Flour/cornstarch
- Vanilla Extract
- Jam (Optional: Choose your favourite! I love to use raspberry jam)
- Pinch of salt (enhances the sweetness!)
- optional: Chopped chocolate and/or nuts, sprinkles
Let’s make my favourite Celebration Layer Cake!
Sponge Cake
Preheat oven to 350F (Convection 325F). Line the base of 2, 9” cake pans with parchment paper rounds (covering bottoms of tins).
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs with water for 1 minute on high-speed.
Gradually add sugar and continue mixing on high for~8-10 minutes, until light in colour and increased in volume. In a small bowl, whisk flour, starch and salt.
Fold flour mixture into fluffed egg/sugar mixture.
Split cake batter in 2 and pour 1/2 into each cake pan.
Bake for ~30 minutes at 350F, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Top of each cake will be golden brown.
Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for ~5 min before removing from baking pan and transferring to a wire rack.
Creamy Custard
In a saucepan, off the heat, combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Mix to combine.
Add milk to the saucepan and stir ingredients together.
Cook on medium-low heat, while stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken.
In a small bowl, beat egg. While beating the egg, slowly incorporate 4 tbsp of hot milk mixture into the egg.
Remove saucepan from the heat and add egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Return saucepan to heat.
Continue to stir on medium-low until thickened. Add vanilla extract.
Cover and allow to cool.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
In a large bowl with an electric mixture(or by hand if feeling strong!), combine heavy cream, 1/4c powdered sugar and 1tsp vanilla.
Beat until liquid mixture becomes a whipped cream consistency. Stop mixing! (It can easy become butter if over mixed!)
Set aside until assembly.
Assembly
Place one sponge cake on a cake board/flat surface.
Using a serrated knife, run knife along centre of all sides of sponge cake to score.
Continue cutting along centre until cake has been sliced in half.
Lift up top half of cake and set aside.
Add thin layer of raspberry jam to one half of sponge cake (optional).
Add 1/3 of custard to cake layer. Spread custard evenly on top of cake.
Top cake layer with removed cake half.
Repeat assembly step with second sponge cake!
Once assembled, cover cake with sweetened whipped cream.
Decorate as desired with chopped chocolate!
Enjoy!!
Looking for another rich, silky vanilla custard to try in this recipe! Try our Creme Patissiere
Sofia’s Celebration Cake
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 4 Eggs Room temperature
- 4 tbsp Water Luke warm/room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2/3 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Cornstarch
- pinch of salt
Simple Custard
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 1 1/2 cup Milk 2% or higher
- 1 Egg large
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Assembly
- 1x Sponge Cake
- 1x Simple Vanilla Custard
- Raspberry Jam **Optional**
** Chopped chocolate, nuts, or sprinkles for decorating!
Instructions
Simple Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F (Convection 325F).Line the base of 2, 9” cake pans with parchment paper rounds (covering bottoms of tins).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs with water for 1 minute on high-speed. Gradually add sugar and continue mixing on high for~8-10 minutes, until light in colour and increased in volume.
- In a small bowl, whisk flour, starch and salt. Fold flour mixture into fluffed egg/sugar mixture (Fold mixture until it no longer has visible pockets of unincorporated flour).
- Split cake batter in 2, and pour 1/2 into each cake pan. Bake for ~30 minutes at 350F, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Top of each cake will be golden brown.
- Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for ~5 min before removing from baking pan and transferring to a wire rack.
Creamy Custard
- In a saucepan, off the heat, combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add milk to the saucepan and stir ingredients together.
- Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (it will come to a slight boil).
- In a small bowl, beat egg.
- While beating the egg, slowly incorporate 4 tbsp of hot milk mixture into the egg.
- Remove saucepan from the heat and add egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Return saucepan to heat.
- Continue to stir on medium-low until thickened. Add vanilla extract. Stir to incorporate.
- Cover and allow to cool.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
- In a large bowl with an electric mixture(or by hand if feeling strong!), combine heavy cream, 1/4c powdered sugar and 1tsp vanilla.
- Beat until liquid mixture becomes a whipped cream consistency. Stop mixing! (It can easy become butter if over mixed!)
- Set aside until assembly.
Assembly
- Place one sponge cake on a cake board/flat surface.
- Using a serrated knife, run knife along centre of all sides of sponge cake to score.
- Continue cutting along centre until cake has been sliced in half.
- Lift up top half of cake and set aside.
- Add thin layer of raspberry jam to one half of sponge cake.
- Add 1/2 of custard to cake layer.
- Top cake layer with removed cake half.
- Repeat assembly step with second spongecake.
- Once assembled, cover cake with sweetened whipped cream and decorate as desired with chopped chocolate/nuts!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- This cake tastes even better after a day in the fridge!
- Cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks!
- Layer this cake with your favourite jams/syrups for an extra special treat!
- Looking for a richer custard? Try our Creme Patissiere recipe!!
- Chopped nuts, finely chopped chocolate, and sprinkles can be a really fun cake decorations!
- Have fun and get creative! 🙂
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