Little Treasures Cake

Little Treasures Cake. (Nicole Franzen)

Little Treasures Cake

Have you noticed how obsessed little kids are with teeny, tiny things? I’m sure I am not alone in having a graveyard full of small, unidentified toys. This cake is an edible version inspired by those little treasures. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, there’s a bakery, Sweethaus, that sells cakes and candies. If this is the cake of choice for someone’s birthday, then we head to Sweethaus, where the kids choose old-school candies to bring home and decorate the top of this cake. Seeing them make their selections takes me back to spending my own 25-cent pocket money on mixed lollies. On the morning of the party, I’ll make the Very Vanilla Cake, ice it, and then let the kids decorate it before the icing sets.

Makes one 8-inch round cake

For the Very Vanilla Cake:

• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick/115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or any mild-flavored oil

For the Easy Creamy Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For decorating:

• Food coloring (optional)
• Assorted candies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 6 by 3-inch springform pan with butter, line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, and grease the paper.

Add the lemon juice to the milk to sour it. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes or until curdled.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together. Set aside.

In another small bowl, use your fingers to work the vanilla bean seeds into the sugar. Remove any bits of the pod that may have come off with the seeds. Set aside.

Place a large sifter or a sieve in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and sift.

Using an electric mixer with beaters or a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 30 seconds on medium speed and then gradually add the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue beating on medium speed for another 4 minutes or until light in color and fluffy.

Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

With the mixer still on medium speed, gradually add the eggs. If the batter curdles, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the flour to bind it back together.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and then the oil and milk; mix until just combined. Don’t overbeat. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Cover the top of the cake with tinfoil after 30 minutes so the cake doesn’t take on too much color. When a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake bounces back when lightly pressed, remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the cake to gently release. Peel off the parchment paper from the sides. Invert the cake, peel off the bottom piece of parchment, and cool on a wire rack.

Make the Easy Creamy Icing. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Pour in the cream and the vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Using a toothpick, sparingly tint the icing with food coloring. Use an offset spatula or a butter knife to ice the cake. Before the icing sets, get the birthday boy or girl to decorate the cake with the candies.

Reprinted with permission from “Simple Cake“ by Odette Williams, copyright 2019. Photographs by Nicole Franzen. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc.

"Simple Cake: All You Need to Keep Your Friends and Family in Cake" by Odette Williams ($23).