VANILLA FROSTING

April is a busy cake baking month for me with Arabella's birthday and party and Pascal's birthday. I am a big Betty Crocker fan and last year made Arabella this super easy cake. This year I used the vanilla cake mix but then made my own frosting from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook which Arabella had bought me for Christmas - she knows the way to my heart! I LOVE frosting and so made a good amount for a 9" cake to ice the middle, top and sides. I also decorated the cake with white chocolate fingers and haribo - you can never have enough sugar right?!

Ingredients for a 9" cake (or 36 cupcakes):

750g icing sugar, sifted
240g unsalted butter, at room temperature
75ml whole milk
6 drops of vanilla extract
A ribbon (optional)
3 packs of white chocolate fingers (optional)
2 big bags of haribo (optional)
A sponge cake (you can follow this cake recipe if you like or this one below)

Bake your cake and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Sift the icing sugar through a sieve into a bowl and add the butter.

Beat together with either a handheld electric whisk (which I used), or in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment, on a medium -slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. I put my apron on for this part as it can be pretty messy!!

Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and then add 2 tablespoons at a time to the butter and sugar, with the mixer on at a slow speed.

Once all the milk has been added, turn the mixture up to a high speed and beat continually for at least 5 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. You really need to put the effort in and "believe" - it suddenly does come together and the longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. Remember no pain no gain!

Spread on to the cake with a wide knife / spatula. The beauty of covering the cake with sweets and biscuits is that you don't need to be neat about it!

Don't forget to lick the bowl!

As soon as the icing is on the cake, stick on the chocolate fingers (you could use kit kats or anything similar). Don't wait around as they become difficult to stick - I had to go to 4 supermarkets halfway through as I ran out of fingers and white chocolate ones aren't that easy to buy - I ended up having to make the icing a little damp to prevent the fingers falling off!

Then top with as many sweets as possible!

And tie with a ribbon!

Voila!! I have to say I was very very proud of this cake - it not only looked fab but it tasted amazing too. This frosting is out of this world….unfortunately this cake is also a bit like pringles, once you start, you can't stop. This one is already nearly eaten after just 2 days and I am making another one for Friday. Pascal doesn't like sweets so his one will be covered in chocolates like munchies, maltesers and minstrels, reese's peanut butter cups, m&ms….my mouth is already watering at the thought!!