As Valentine’s Day was approaching, I wanted to bake a cake. I thought I would make a strawberry butter icing for the cake, so I made a simple sponge cake then covered it up with strawberry butter icing and strawberries.

For the sponge cake:

1. Separate 4 egg whites and yolks into two separate bowls.
2. Add ½ cup sugar to the whites and beat the whites with an electric blender until they are thick and form peaks.
3. Add ½ cup sugar, 3 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp vanilla essence and 3 Tbsp hot water to the yolks and beat them.
4. Sift 1 cup of self-raising flour and 1 tsp baking powder together.
5. Add the yolks to the flour and mix.
6. Now slowly add the egg whites little by little to the mixture.
7. Dust some flour into the greased cake pan to avoid sticking.
8. Pour the batter into the cake pan and remove any air bubbles by tapping the cake tin with a spoon.
9. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C C.
10. Ask an adult to pop the cake tin into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Stick a toothpick into the cake to check if it is cooked. If the toothpick is clean, then the cake is cooked or else it needs to be cooked for some more time.
12. After baking cool the cake on a cooling rack.

For the icing:

1. Put 1 cup of fresh strawberries in a blender and make a purée.
2. Pour the strawberry purée into a pan and boil on medium heat until it is reduced to half its size, about 20 minutes, then let it cool down.
3. Beat 1 cup butter with an electric beater until light and fluffy.
4. Beat 1 cup sugar into the butter until blended.
5. Beat 2 Tbsp strawberry purée and 1 tsp vanilla extract into the butter mixture until just blended.
6. Repeat with 1 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp strawberry purée, two more times.
7.  Lastly beat ½ cup more sugar into the mixture until blended.