Griffins 150 Year Celebration Cake

Karla Goodwin from Bluebells Cakery in Auckland creates a Griffins cake recipe to celebrate 150 years of Griffins. This is a real celebration cake that the kids will love. You will need a brownie tin to bake it and then to assemble the cake, a 6 inch round (15cm) cake tin and a clear acetate baking band from a baking supply store, along with a jar of raspberry jam.

Cake

200 g	Hundreds and Thousands biscuits
200 g	Toffee Pop biscuits
250 g	Gingernuts (Main)
150 g	Pink wafer biscuits (Main)
240 g	Caster sugar
225 g	Plain flour, sifted
1 Tbsp	Baking powder
½ tsp	Salt
125 g	Unsalted butter, softened
200 ml	Milk, full-fat, room temperature
1 tsp	Vanilla essence/extract, good quality
2	Eggs, free-range, room temperature

Raspberry cream cheese icing

175 g	Cream cheese, full-fat
125 g	Unsalted butter, room temperature
500 g	Icing sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp	Dried raspberry powder

Caramel cream cheese icing

125 g	Unsalted butter, room temperature
175 g	Cream cheese, full-fat
2 Tbsp	Caramel sauce, ready-made
500 g	Icing sugar, sifted

Directions

To assemble the cake, you will need:

• 6 inch (15cm) round cake tin
• Acetate baking band, from baking supply stores
• Raspberry jam
• Extra ready-made caramel sauce
• Biscuit crumbs, including leftover Hundreds and Thousands crumbs
• Baked cake
• Raspberry cream cheese icing
• Caramel cream cheese icing

To make the cake

1. Take one packet of biscuits at a time and crush in a bag with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor until they resemble chunky breadcrumbs. Set aside and keep separate from each other.
2. Grease and line a large 30cm x 20cm brownie tray and set aside. Preheat your oven to bake 180C (fan bake 160C).
3. To make the cake, sift sugar, flour, baking powder and salt dry ingredients into the bowl of your cake mixer. Add the softened butter in small chunks. Using the balloon whisk attachment, turn the mixer to a slow speed (or use a hand held mixer if you don't have a freestanding one). The butter will start to blend through the dry ingredients.
4. Leave the mixer on while measuring the milk into a plastic jug. Add the vanilla and eggs to the milk and whisk together until well combined.
5. Turn the mixer to a medium/high speed and when the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and no butter chunks remain, slowly pour the milk into the bowl.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on a medium speed until the batter is smooth and lump free.
7. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter into the prepared brownie tray until 2/3 full. Sprinkle at least 1 cup of the Hundreds and Thousands biscuit crumbs over the batter (keep leftover crumbs for decorating) then bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
8. Once baked, remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icings

1. When ready to assemble, make the icings.
2. For the raspberry cream cheese icing, whip the butter and cream cheese together. Add the sifted icing sugar and raspberry powder and beat together until light and fluffy.
3. To make the caramel cream cheese icing, whip the butter and cream cheese together. Add the sifted icing sugar and beat together until light and fluffy.

To assemble the cake

1. Spray and line the bottom of the cake tin and wrap the acetate around the inside of the tin.
2. Using the outline of the tin as your guide, cut 3 rounds from the cake sponge (you will only get 2 full rounds, make up the 3^rdround using the leftover edges).
3. Place the untidiest round on the bottom and fill in any gaps with left over pieces. You want to press the sponge down firmly so it's snug and compact.
4. Brush a thin layer of raspberry jam over the sponge then sprinkle the remaining Hundreds and Thousands crumbs over the top.
5. Spread a thick layer of raspberry icing over the crumbs then top with the 2^ndlayer of cake.
6. Drizzle a thin layer of caramel sauce over the sponge then spread a thick layer of caramel icing over. Sprinkle the top of the icing with a good handful or two of the Toffee Pop biscuit crumbs. Ensure everything is spread right out to the sides of the acetate.
7. Lastly add the 3^rdlayer of cake sponge, sprinkle with the Gingernut crumbs and top with a thin layer of raspberry cream cheese icing. Flatten the top of the icing with a palette knife.
8. Fill a piping bag with raspberry cream cheese icing. Using a rosette nozzle attachment, pipe a scalloped border around the very edge of the cake.
9. Sprinkle the Pink Wafer crumbs inside this border, then pipe a second border around these crumbs (see photo).
10. Fill the centre of the cake with Gingernut crumbs.
11. Chill the cake for at least an hour before serving.
12. To serve gently pull the cake out of the cake tin and peel away the acetate. Enjoy!

tip

Check out Ray McVinnie's video on'How to make chocolate shards'