22/09/2026
ABC RADIO RECIPES SEPT 22ns 2026
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Golden Yellow Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting by: Nagi of Recipe Tin Eats
Ingredients
2 cups plain / all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp cooking salt
4 large eggs (50 - 55g / 2 oz each), at room temp
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
115g / 1/2 cup unsalted butter , cut into 1.5cm / 1/2” cubes
1 cup milk , full fat
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp vegetable or canola oil , or other plain flavoured oil
My Favourite Chocolate Frosting
200g / 7 oz dark chocolate chips or melts (semi-sweet chocolate chips) , or chopped block
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (no need to sift), or regular unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cooking salt
100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter , softened
2 cups (250g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted
250g / 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese block (not tub) , at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 20 minutes before starting the batter (Note 11). Place shelf in the middle of the oven.
Pans - Grease 3 x 20cm / 8” cake pans with butter, then line with parchment / baking paper. Best to use cake pan without a loose base, if you can, as the batter is quite thin.
Dry ingredients - Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Beat eggs until triple - Beat eggs for 30 seconds on speed 6 of a Stand Mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or hand be**er. With the be**er still going, pour in the sugar over 45 seconds, then beat on speed 8 for 7 minutes until the eggs triple in volume and become white.
Heat Milk-Butter - While egg is beating, place butter and milk in a heatproof jug and microwave 2 minutes on high until the milk is hot and butter is melted (or use stove). Don't let the milk boil over.
Add flour in 3 batches - When the egg is whipped, add the flour in 3 batches beating for 5 seconds on Speed 1 in between. Once all the flour is in, beat for another 5 - 10 seconds until you can't see any flour, then stop beating straight away.
Combine milk, vanilla & oil with batter - Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into the now empty flour bowl. Add about 1 1/2 cups of cake batter into the hot milk bowl (no need to be 100% accurate with amount). Whisk vigorously using a handheld whisk until smooth and a bit foamy.
Slowly beat in milk - Turn be**er back on Speed 1 then pour the Milk mixture into the cake batter over 15 seconds, then turn be**er off.
Scrape and final mix - Scrape down sides and base of bowl. Beat on Speed 1 for 10 seconds - batter should now be smooth and pourable.
Bake:
Divide batter between three pans (370g / 13 oz batter per pan). Bang each cake pan on the counter 3 times to knock out big bubbles
Bake 23 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.
Cool & frost:
Cool - Remove pans from oven. Cool in cake pans for 15 minutes, then gently turn out onto cooling racks. Cool upside down - slight dome will flatten perfectly. Level cake = neat layers.
Refrigerate - Once fully cool on the counter, refrigerate for 30 minutes before frosting (makes it easier to frost as cake is firmer when cold).
Frost - Use the cake layers upside for flat surfaces. Spread 1 cup Chocolate Frosting on each layer, then frost the sides and surface generously. Use leftover frosting to pipe decorative swirls on the top.
Sprinkle! Decorate with sprinkles as desired. How I decorate the base - place sprinkles around the base, then use a butter knife to scoop them up and press onto the sides. See video for visual demo.
Chocolate Frosting:
Bloom cocoa – Heat the cream in a heatproof bowl until hot but make sure it doesn't come to a boil. Add cocoa powder and whisk until lump free – it will be like a thin paste. Set aside 5 minutes to bloom (brings out chocolate flavour).
Melt chocolate – Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave in bursts until smooth – 30 seconds on high, stir, then 20 second increments.
Chocolate paste – Add the cocoa paste into the melted chocolate. Whisk until combined and smooth, it will be like a thin paste. Cool for 15 minutes on the counter – it will thicken. Don't worry if a skin forms on the surface, it will beat out in the next step.
Cream cheese whip – In a separate large bowl, beat butter with a handheld mixer until soft and fluffy (about 1 1/2 minutes on high). Add icing sugar and beat until sandy and no large butter lumps remain (~ 30 seconds). Add cream cheese and beat until smooth and creamy (~30 seconds), stopping once no yellow butter bits remain.
Beat in chocolate – Add all the chocolate paste and beat until combined. Taste. Yum!
Refrigerate – Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours until properly fridge-cold (stick the be**ers in the bowl). You can leave it in the fridge at this point for days.
Fluff frosting – Remove bowl from the fridge. Add the 1/2 cup of cream and salt. Beat on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until you have stiff peaks (ie upright Santa hats, not floppy elf hat). The frosting should be beautifully creamy like buttercream but fluffy like whipped cream.
Funfetti Sheet Cake by Sugar & Sparrow
Ingredients
2 1/2 Cups (265g) sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 3/4 Cup (340g) granulated white sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 Cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 Cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
1/3 Cup (60g) rainbow sprinkles, coated in 1 tsp flour
Vanilla Buttercream
1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
5 Cups (600g) powdered sugar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
pinch of salt, or to taste
1-2 drops pink food color gel (optional)
Garnish
1/4 Cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Make the Funfetti Sheet Cake
Preheat the oven to 325°F (163ºC). Prepare a 9x13 metal baking pan* by spraying the sides with baking spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
Sift the cake flour first, then measure it out by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), then beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 10-15 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high speed.
Turn the mixer off and add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix on low speed until just combined, then add the milk in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs by hand to make sure there are no lumps.
Coat the rainbow sprinkles in 1 teaspoon of flour, then gently fold them into the cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the baking dish until room temperature.
Make the Vanilla Buttercream
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer and large bowl), cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
Add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time and mix on low speed, scraping down the bowl and paddle and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
Add the vanilla, milk, salt, and pink food color gel (if using) and mix on low speed for another minute, or until fully incorporated.
Assembly
Once the funfetti sheet cake has cooled completely, frost with the vanilla buttercream. To create the look pictured, use half of the vanilla buttercream to frost the cake surface and swipe through the frosting side to side with an angled spatula to create texture. Garnish the surface with rainbow sprinkles, then add the remaining vanilla buttercream into a piping bag. Pipe a star border around the edges of the cake and garnish with more rainbow sprinkles.
Strawberry Lemonade Cake By Yossy Arefi
Ingredients
Lemonade Cake
• ¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened, plus more for greasing the pans
• 3 cups/385 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing the pan
• 8 large lemons
• 1 ½ cups/360 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature
• 2 cups/400 grams granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
• ¼ cup/60 milliliters neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable or grapeseed)
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
Strawberry Lemon Buttercream
• 1 ½ cups/340 grams unsalted butter (3 sticks), softened
• 1 pound/450 grams powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
• 6 tablespoons finely crushed freeze-dried strawberries (from a 1-ounce package)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond crystal), plus more as needed
• 3 cups thinly sliced fresh strawberries, for decorating
Preparation
Heat oven to 160 degrees. Butter 2 (9-inch) cake pans, and line each with parchment paper. Butter the parchment, then dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
Use a microplane or similar fine grater to finely grate the zest of the lemons, setting aside 3 tablespoons of zest for the cake and 1 tablespoon for the buttercream. Juice the zested lemons and set aside ½ cup/120 milliliters of the juice to split between the cake and the buttercream. (Don’t refrigerate the lemon juice.)
In a large measuring cup with a spout, combine the milk and ¼ cup of the lemon juice. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the batter.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, add the sugar and 3 tablespoons of the lemon zest. Use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar looks damp and smells fragrant.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the bowl and mix on low to combine. Cut the butter into tablespoon-size pieces and add them to the bowl all at once. Mix on low until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture looks sandy. (A few larger lumps of butter is OK.)
Add the oil and eggs to the measuring cup with the milk and whisk with a fork to combine. With the mixer on low, slowly stream in the milk mixture. When moistened, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure there aren’t any dry pockets. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 1 minute. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, spreading evenly and tapping the pans on a countertop to release any large air bubbles.
Bake the cakes until slightly risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. The cakes will have a bit of color around the edges, but the tops will still be quite pale. Set the pans on a wire rack and let the cakes cool for about 20 minutes. Then, run a thin knife around the edges of the pan and carefully turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely. (You may have to tap the pans gently on the rack to release each cake.)
While the cakes bake and cool, clean the mixing bowl and make the buttercream: Add the butter to the bowl and mix on medium-high until smooth. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon zest, 2 tablespoons of the remaining lemon juice, the powdered sugar, freeze-dried strawberries and salt. Mix on low until the sugar is moistened, then increase speed to medium-high and whip until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If necessary, add a bit more of the remaining lemon juice a teaspoon at a time to make a smooth and light buttercream. Scrape the bowl occasionally to ensure that the buttercream is evenly mixed. Taste and season with more salt if desired. (The buttercream can be kept at room temperature while the cake finishes baking and cooling.)
Assemble the cake: Just before frosting the cake, stir the buttercream vigorously with a flexible spatula to knock out any large air bubbles. (This will help to make the final buttercream smooth without any large holes.) Add a small spoonful of buttercream to a serving plate or cardboard cake round. Place one layer of cake onto the buttercream, dome side up. Spread 1 heaping cup of buttercream evenly over the top of the cake. Arrange 1 cup of the sliced strawberries in a single layer over the buttercream, leaving ½ inch of frosting around the edges uncovered. Place the second layer on top of the buttercream, dome side down, and press gently. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream (be careful not to transfer crumbs back into the bowl of frosting), leaving about 1 ½ cups buttercream in the bowl. Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 30 minutes. Spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Top with the remaining 1 cup sliced strawberries.
Store the cake at room temperature for a day, loosely covered. If there is any cake left after a day, store in the refrigerator. Use a hot, clean and dry knife for the tidiest slices.
Caramel Layer Cake with Brown Butter Frosting by King Arthur Baking
Ingredients
Caramel Syrup
1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (74g) water
3/4 cup (170g) additional water
Cake
3 cups (360g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups (248g) granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (227g) sour cream
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (160g) caramel syrup
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Brown butter frosting
12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/8 to 1/4 cup (40g to 80g) caramel syrup
2 teaspoons King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
4 cups (454g) confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (57g) heavy cream
Instructions
To make the caramel syrup: In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar with 1/3 cup (74g) water. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the sugar melts, the water boils away, and the syrup and begins to turn color.
When the sugar is a medium amber color, remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in 3/4 cup (170g) water. The mixture will bubble and spurt, so be careful. Once all of the water is in the pan, return the pan to low heat and stir until the sugar melts and you have a smooth liquid. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9" cake pans, and line them with parchment.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and beat at low speed until the mixture looks sandy.
Combine the 1/2 cup (160g) caramel syrup, vanilla, and sour cream; add all at once to the flour mixture, and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, then beat In the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bowl, beat for one minute more, and divide the batter between the prepared pans.
Bake the cakes for 25 to 27 minutes, until a light touch in the center springs back, and the cake just begins to pull from the sides of the pan. Remove them from the oven and cool them in their pans on a rack.
To make the frosting: Place the butter in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter foams and begins to spurt; eventually the solids will begin to caramelize and the butter will begin to smell nutty. Once this happens, remove it from the heat and pour it into a mixing bowl. Let the butter cool to room temperature.
Add the caramel syrup, vanilla, and salt. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix; the mixture will get stiff and lumpy (that's OK).
Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time while the mixer is running; the frosting will magically smooth out. When the frosting is a little stiffer than you want for a spreading consistency, scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, and add one more tablespoon of cream. The icing should become smooth and quite spreadable.
To assemble: Flip the cooled cake layers out of their pans; trim the tops to be level, if necessary. Place one-layer, top down, on a serving plate. Line the plate with strips of parchment or waxed paper to keep it clean while you frost the cake.
Spread 2/3 cup of frosting over the first layer. Place the second layer, top side down, over the filling. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
To garnish: Take thickened caramel syrup (see "tips," below), cooled to room temperature, and drizzle it over the top of the caramel layer cake before cutting.
