I have been quiet but it has been a hard few months. A knee-op and my 84 year old mom very ill. But the sun is shining again so I decided to bake. I know naked cakes are old news but as a non-baker I have to start with something real simple … and this was the end result. I am so chuffed. The cake recipe is really easy and belongs to my friend, Theresa de Vries.

By the way, the decorating could not have been easier. I finished it with the flowers from the bougainvillea in my garden.

Every now and then we should all bake. It is good for both mind and soul.

Vanilla Naked Cake
4 eggs, separated
375 ml castor sugar
125 ml sunflower oil
250 ml milk (or water)
5 ml vanilla essence
250 g cake flour
125 ml cornflour
15 ml baking powder
2.5 ml salt
Frosting
150 g butter, room temperature
300 g icing sugar
few drops of vanilla essence

Heat the oven to 180 °. Butter two 22 cm round cake tins and line the bottoms with baking paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the tin and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Use an electric hand mixer and beat the eggs and the sugar together until pale. Add the oil, milk and vanilla essence and mix well. Sift over the flour, cornflower, baking powder and salt and mix through. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks and fold into the batter. Divide the mixture between the cake tins (about 550 g per tin) and gently spread out with a spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before turning on to a wire rack to cool.
Cream the butter and add the icing sugar. Mix well. Add the vanilla essence. Add a bit of milk of you think it is too thick.
Put one layer of cake down on your cake stand. Spread the frosting generously over the cake – specially the sides. Put your second cake on top – make sure the bottom of the cake is on top. You want to end your cake with a very flat top. Fill any gaps you see with extra frosting. Instead of covering it with frosting leave the layers exposed. Take a spatula and even the frosting on the sides. There you have it … a beautiful and delicious naked cake!