Mother's Day inspirations

Things I love about being a Mum:

• The feeling of pride as my son surprises me with a new thought or learning.
• The warmth of his cuddles as he squeezes me.
• The joy I feel when planning special games or activities to share with him that I know we'll both enjoy.
• Having him sit o the counter while we bake together.
• Hearing the stories from his day.
• Knowing I've done something right when I might be feeling upset or stressed and he spontaneously cuddles me and lightly pats me on the back. 
• The look of absolute love he gives me. 

I don't think I can write down all the joys of being a Mother. I know I can complain about the hardness at times, but I would go through it again in an instant knowing there are so many amazing moments of joy that come with parenthood. I have changed more than I expected since becoming a Mummy. I may have lost personal time and irresponsibility, but I have gained strength, wisdom, courage and a love which cannot be explained or described.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mums out there. Enjoy the beautiful day you deserve!

Vanilla and Strawberry Buttermilk Layer Cake
Adapted from Sweetapolita
My cake for Mother's Day pretty much had to be inspired by this blog. I love all the cakes she creates, but also the wonderful way she incorporates her gorgeous family into her posts and public profile. 

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
4 whole eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1-1/4 cups (297 ml) buttermilk, shaken
2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract OR Princess Bakery Emulsion
3 cups (345 g) cake flour, sifted
2 cups (400 g) sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon (17 g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (4 g) salt
1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small even pieces
 
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Butter the bottoms and sides of two round cake tins then line the bottoms with baking paper.

Firstly, lightly whisk the eggs, yolks, 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and the vanilla. Set aside.

Next, in a large bowl (these ingredients equal about double what you'd do for a normal cake, so best to start with a large bowl) combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer until the flour resembles breadcrumbs (or looks sandy).

Add the remaining 1 cup buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the egg mixture; once the mixture has been added, increase speed to medium and beat until mixture is combined and smooth. Be careful not to over beat!

Divide batter evenly among the 2 prepared pans and pop into the oven for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted into the center and comes out with a few crumbs but no batter. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto wire racks, peel of the paper liners, and let cool completely. Once cooled, using a serrated knife, carefully cut the cakes through the centre to make 4 layers. Wrap loosely in glad wrap (make sure there's something between each layer so they don't stick) and pop the layers in the fridge to continue to cool completely before assembly.

Filling
250g fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (save 3 for decorating)
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbs water
500g cream cheese
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Start with making a sugar syrup to add to your strawberries. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and water. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside. In a food processor or blender, add the strawberries and sugar syrup. Pulse until smooth. 

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.

Icing
250g butter, at room temperature
3 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
2 - 4 tbs strawberry puree

In a bowl, beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the milk slowly and taste to see if more milk is needed. You don't want the icing to taste too grainy from the icing sugar, so to make it smoother, add a little more milk and beat until smooth. Finally, add the strawberry syrup to give the icing a light pink colour. Add the puree a tablespoon at a time, as the acid in the strawberries can cause the butter in the icing to curdle. Too much strawberry will cause this and mean your icing won't be smooth. 

Assembly
Place the bottom layer of cake on your serving plate (soft, inside cake facing up). Spoon 1 - 2 tbs of strawberry puree onto the cake and using a pastry brush, spread the strawberry over the layer. Next, spread a layer of the cream cheese over the strawberry (about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture, save a bit to decorate the top). Top the cream cheese with a layer of cake and repeat until the final cake layer has been added. 

With your strawberry butter icing, fill in all the gaps between the layers to make the outside smooth. Then start spreading a layer of icing on the outside of the cake. Pop the cake in the fridge for about 10 minutes to set the icing before adding another layer on the outside and a layer on the top. Smooth out. Using a piping bag, pipe some cream cheese around the outer edges of cake, this will help disguise any dodgy edges as well. Finish with a few strawberries on top. ENJOY!