This may look daunting if you’re not used to decorating cakes, but there’s loads of ways it can be tailored to suit your self! If you don’t want the hassle of covering the whole cake in buttercream, you can have what the boujee ones call ‘a naked cake’. Or maybe you don’t want a thick layer of icing around the outside so you could have a ‘semi naked cake’ orrrrr you could cut the quantities by a third and have just the two layers - so no need to panic is what I’m saying!
With regard to the decorating, you’ll see glimpses of it on my Instagram/ TikTok, but there are loads or tutorials out there to help you. I should load one on my own YouTube but sure jeepers you’d be full time at the social media and no time for living!!
Oh also, I used crunchy biscoff for the drip just because that’s all I had in the house but I’d highly recommend using the smooth one. Unless you’re going for the more rustic look like me! 😉
For the cake you’ll need:
400g butter (room temperature)
400g caster sugar
400g self-raising flour
7 eggs
3 generous tablespoons Biscoff
For the buttercream you’ll need:
750g unsalted butter (room temperature)
900g icing sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste
For the filling:
8 biscoff biscuits (crushed)
200g biscoff (melted)
Biscoff drip on top:
200g biscoff (melted)
How to:
1. Grease and line 3 6” tins and set the oven to 150oC (fan)
2. In a mixer / bowl cream together the butter & sugar until pale and creamy
3. Place all the eggs into a jug and beat with a fork until combined
4. Place ½ the flour and ½ the eggs into the creamed butter, mix on a low speed until just combined. Repeat with the remainder of the ingredients. Scrape down your bowl and mix again one last time to ensure everything is mixed well.
5. Divide the mixture between the three cake tins. Place the biscoff into a cup/small jug and melt in the microwave in 10s bursts
6. Drizzle a tablespoon of the melted biscoff over each of the cake layers and marble through the cake mixture with a skewer (or use the end of a teaspoon)
7. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25minutes until the cakes are risen and springy to touch. A skewer inserted into the cakes should come out completely clean. Leave to cool completely.
Once the cake is completely cool, you can start to assemble:
8. Make the buttercream by adding the butter & icing sugar & vanilla bean paste into a mixer / large bowl and beating until pale and creamy. This can take up to 10 minutes to get a nice, smooth buttercream.
9. Next, level off your cakes using a knife to ensure they are level and even, this will ensure an easier stacking process.
10. Place a few tablespoons of your butter icing onto one of the cake layers, and using an offset spatula level it out. I find it useful to create almost like a dam or a wall to ward the edge of the cake, creating a well in the middle for your filling to sit.
11. In to the well, or middle of the cake add a handful of crushed biscoff biscuits and drizzle over some melted biscoff paste (not too much as you don’t want it leak out when trying to layer the cake!)
12. Add another tablespoon of buttercream on top of the biscoff & biscuits and level it out. This is just to seal the filling between the cake layers.
13. Repeat steps 10, 11 and 12 until the cake is complete
14. Next you want to cover your cake entirely with buttercream. I find it easier to do this using an off-set spatula, and a turn table or lazy Susan. I use a metal scrapper to get the smooth edges, scrapping with a gentle pressure while I rotate the cake with the other hand. And I find it easier to start the sides and then do the top whereas I know some cake makers do the top first, and then down the sides. Do a thin crumb coat first, and then add on layer by layer, refrigerating in between each layer until you get the desired thickness on your buttercream coating. There are loads of YouTube tutorials on this if you want a full run down!
Once your cake is coated and refrigerated you can add your drip
15. Melt 200g biscoff in the microwave in 10s bursts. Using a tablespoon drip the melted biscoff over the edge of the cake first and then fill in the bit at the top. I used crunchy biscoff for the this, but I would highly recommend using the smoot paste instead, it’ll give a much cleaner finish. I just added a few biscuits on top to finish!
