Alison Roman’s Birthday Cake

As it’s Your Call Magazine’s 18^th birthday coming up on 1st July, we thought we’d bring you this classic birthday cake recipe from American baking superstar Alison Roman. This beautiful cake would be a great addition to any summer party or celebration you may have coming up.

Serves 10-12

For the cake:

• Non-stick spray or butter for the pan
• 225g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 470g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 360ml buttermilk
• 180ml vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 400g granulated sugar
• 110g lightly packed light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks

For the chocolate frosting:

• 340g bittersweet chocolate, chopped (chocolate chips are fine)
• 225g sour cream, room temperature
• 225g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 185g icing sugar
• Generous pinch of salt
• Lots of sprinkles

1   Heat the oven to 180°C. Spray three 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray or grease with softened butter.

2   Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

3    In another bowl, combine the butter, sugar and light brown sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat everything until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Beat until combined.

4   Add a quarter of the flour mixture. Before fully combined, add in half of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk until everything is blended.

5   Divide the batter equally among the pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The cakes are done when they are golden brown and pulling away from the sides of the pan.

6   Melt the chocolate. Add half the sour cream to the chocolate and combine. Repeat with another half. The chocolate will stiffen a bit as you add the sour cream.

7   In a bowl, combine the butter, sugar and salt using an electric mixer on low speed at first. Beat until everything is almost pure. Slowly add in the chocolate mixture and beat until combined.

8   Assemble the cake with frosting between each layer and use the last of the frosting to cover the entire cake. Decorate with sprinkles and serve.

Top Tips

• It is essential to ensure the cake layers are properly cooled before frosting them
• For a pro effect, apply a ‘crumb layer’ first whereby you apply a thin layer of icing on the outside of the cake and then place it in the fridge to set. Once chilled, you can apply the rest of the frosting over this layer for a flawless effect.