Delicious Dulce de Leche Nutella Sponge Cake

As a little girl, my favourite thing to do would be to bake with Mum. We'd squeeze into our little kitchen, put on our 'pinnies', something my Nanna had always taught us to do, get out the big beige ceramic bowl, and look at the Mary Berry Fast Cakes cookbook to pick today's challenge. We would then invariably get flour and butter EVERYWHERE.
I may be a lot older (and a little taller) now, but I'm still almost as messy! I do still have a love for baking- mum and I watched every single episode of the the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) since it was first broadcast, even once I moved abroad, she'd text me every detail and watch it with me when I could get back to visit.

This cake was make for my husband's birthday last year- a vanilla sponge, dulce de leche filling, topped with nutella buttercream and crispy maple flakes. This is a little.. filling inducing, for anyone with a sweet tooth! This recipe is based off the very one I made as a child in honour of one of my idols, Mary Berry.

Ingredients
For the Cake
8oz caster sugar (fine granulated will do!)
8oz butter (softened, plus a little extra for greasing)
4 eggs (whisked)
8oz Self Raising flour (sifted)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (I love Nielsen-Massey's Madagascar variety)

For the Filling
7oz/ 200g condensed milk (about half a small can)
1/2 tsp salt
8oz icing sugar (powdered/ confectioner's sugar)

For the Icing
16oz icing sugar (powdered / confectioner's sugar)
8oz butter
3oz nutella
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line and grease 2 8in (20cm) sandwich (cake) tins.
Cream together the butter and sugar, add the vanilla bean paste and mix. Then, gradually add the eggs and fold in the flour and baking powder, ensuring not to knock too much air out of the mixture.
Gently pour the mixture into the cake tins as evently as you can, using a large spoon or spatula to scrape the mixture out of the bowl. Bake for around 25 minutes, the tops should be slightly brown and springy to the touch, if you insert a knife or cocktail stick, it should come out clean- if there is muxture on it, then the cake needs a little longer in the oven.

Once baked, turn the cake out onto cooling racks and leave to cool.

Once the cake is cooled, you can begin assembly. Mix the dulce de leche, salt, and icing sugar in a large bowl (or using a stand mixer) until the mixture thickens. Spread generously on the top side of the cake you will put use as the bottom half of the cake, add the other half of the cake on top, and cover with the rest of the dulce de leche mixture.

Using the same bowl, mix the butter, icing sugar, cocoa butter, and nutella until the mixture is thick enough to form peaks, but loose enough to pipe. You may need to add a couple of drops of warm water to get the right consistency. cover the cake in a thin layer of the icing- this is known as a crumb coat. Use a spatula to even out the edges, then add the rest of the icing to a piping bag, using your favourite nozzle (the Wilton 2D is my go-to!) pipe your design on top of the cake. If you prefer, instead of piping you can add another layer of the buttercream around the sides and top of the cake, then use a spatula or pallet knife to make a swirl pattern.
I added maple flakes on top for a little crunch.

Enjoy with a glass of bubbly or a cuppa and your loved ones.