Serves: 12

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Have a birthday coming up? Go big with this beautiful, gluten free birthday cake. Enjoy the nostalgically sweet flavours of dreamy vanilla, silky buttercream, natural rainbow sprinkles.

This recipe may look a little complicated, but we assure you it's an easy one to follow and leaves you with a seriously sexy birthday cake. It's fluffy, moist, perfectly sweet, and loaded with sprinkles – all you want in a birthday cake.

Get ready for the ultimate party in your mouth. It’s a crowd-pleasing, slightly addictive dessert for any special occasion, including birthdays, anniversaries, and even for a joy-filled weekend.

INGREDIENTS

For the Vanilla Sponge

• 1 + 1/2 cups (360g) light olive oil
• 1 + 3/4 cups (420g) caster sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
• 3 cups (540g) Nodo Self-Raising Flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda

• 1 + 1/2 cups (375mL) milk

For the Sprinkle Buttercream

• 450g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 450g icing sugar, sifted
• 400g white chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup natural sprinkles, plus extra for decoration

Equipment

• 3 x 8 inch cake pans
• Electric beater or stand mixer
• Piping bag and star piping nozzle

METHOD

To Bake the Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan-forced).
2. Line the bottom and side of 3 x 8 inch cake pans with baking paper. Set aside.
3. Whisk the olive oil and sugar with an electric beater or stand mixer until pale, one minute.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla paste, then whisk until well combined.
5. Fold in the self-raising flour and bicarb soda, ensuring the mixture is smooth and all of the flour has been incorporated.
6. Add the milk half a cup at a time, stirring until fully incorporated before adding the next portion of milk.
7. Distribute the mixture evenly between the three cake pans.
8. Bake for 35 minutes, turning the pans around 180 degrees at the half way mark. Note: If baking the cakes one at a time, place the batter in the fridge to chill while the other cakes are baking.
9. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

To Make the Buttercream

1. To make the buttercream, whisk the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar 1/4 cup at a time, allowing the sugar to fully incorporate before adding the next portion of icing sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl regularly as the icing sugar is added.
2. Add the melted and cooled white chocolate and whisk until fully combined.
3. Fold the sprinkles into the buttercream.

To Assemble

1. Ensure that the cakes have cooled completely before assembling.
2. Level the surface of the cakes with a bread knife or cake leveller so that you have three even layers of cake.
3. Place the piping nozzle into the piping bag and secure. Fill the piping bag up to 3/4 full with the buttercream. Twist the end of the piping bag to hold in place. To pipe, hold the piping bag so the the nozzle is perpendicular to the surface and squeeze the far end of the piping bag. Move the piping bag in a circular motion to create a swirl effect.
4. Pipe four small dots of buttercream onto a cake board or serving platter. Secure the first layer of cake onto the board by placing it onto the buttercream.
5. Pipe swirls of buttercream evenly over the surface of the cake.
6. Place the second layer of cake on top of the buttercream. Repeat the buttercream swirls over the cake.
7. Place the final layer of cake on top and finish with the final layer of buttercream swirls. Decorate with sprinkles.
8. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before slicing.
9. If preparing the cake ahead of time, keep refrigerated until 30 minutes prior to serving. Remove the cake from the fridge to allow the buttercream to come to room temperature.