I love baking but being a working mom I simply don’t have time to spend in baking fabulous cakes. Over the years, I have tried several recipes and never found the perfect one. I was fighting especially with icing: I tried using whipped cream, but it doesn’t hold well. I tried the classic buttercream icing, but I find it too sweet; it holds best but I often ended up with a beautiful cake no one wanted to eat. However, this year I found the recipe. Not only cakes are beautiful, but they also taste crazy good. You can use the same cream for filling and icing, it tastes amazing and holds very well for few days. It’s so easy to make, I whip it by hand!
This precious secret was handed me from a friend, Daria. You can find her own creations on Instagram under the hashtag #dariaandcake.

A simple strawberry version for my husband’s birthday.

The base is a classic sponge cake, you can find several recipes online, use a book or website you trust. You can save time by ordering a sponge cake from a bakery, I often do. Before filling it, I brush the sponge with some juice. Now the cream. For a 10 person cake (22 cm diam. cake pan) and one filling layer, I use:

750 g mascarpone cheese
250 g spread cheese (ex. Philadelphia or oat spread)
200 ml of vanilla sauce or cream
about 8 full tablespoons of icing sugar (taste to find the right amount)

Mix with a hand whisk. For kids’ cakes I may add food colour.

E’s 3rd birthday cake.

I usually take out one third of the cream and add strawberries and/or chocolate chips to it, and use it for the filling. You can use your imagination and try something new, like cherries or meringue. The rest is used for the icing. Use a spatula and spread it on top and on the sides. You’ll find out the cream is extremely easy to manipulate and holds perfectly. You can top the cake with fruits, flowers, candies, anything you like.

A very happy customer.

I know it sounds dramatic but this recipe changed my life! I used to approach my family’s birthdays with anxiety about what cake I would bake and desperately browsing online. Now if I wish I can try something new, but if I don’t feel like it I have this easy and classic recipe to trust.

If you’ll try it, make sure to send me or tag me in a picture, I’ll be glad to know I have made some other mom’s life easier!