Easy Gluten Free Birthday Cake

I'm a busy Mom who loves to bake but there are many occasions when I am time poor and need something in a hurry.  Whether it's for a park date after school or bringing something allergy friendly along to a party I like to be prepared even if I have been out all day running errands or working around the house.  I also like to make a little something for our own birthdays at home so we can light some candles and sing Happy Birthday. 

My children have always loved Australian Women's Weekly cake books and often flick through them and tell me which ones they like and what cake they want for their next birthday.  I've made notes on what occasions we have made the different designs and I will be passing these on so they can continue these traditions.  This year, things changed for us a little now we have Coeliac Disease in the mix but the children don't have to miss out as the Australian Women's Weekly manages to be there for us, as always, with some great recipes in their Gluten Free/Allergy Free cookbook (endorsed by The Coeliac Society of Australia).

This buttercake takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes in the oven so you have plenty of time to get on with some other jobs in the house while it bakes.

For the cake you will need:

200 g softened butter
300 g gluten free self raising flour (I like Orgran)
220 g caster sugar
125 ml milk
2 eggs
2 egg whites

To prepare:
Preheat the oven to 180 or 160 fan forced
Prepare your cake tin - AWW use a heart tin for this particular cake but you could adapt this shape to suit another design
Beat butter until pale
In a separate bowl sift flour and 1/4 cup of sugar together and then beat it into the butter in two batches along with the milk.
Beat the eggs and egg whites until thick and creamy.
Add the remaining sugar one tablespoon at a time, beating until the sugar dissolves between additions.
Gradually pour egg mix into flour mix and beat on a low speed only until just combined.

To decorate, the AWW use a fluffy frosting but that involves candy thermometers and way more attention to detail than most of us have time for so personally I would use a favourite buttercream recipe and add a few Hopper sprinkles or edible decorations.  Many of the 'own brand' royal icing decorations contain wheat so choose carefully and read all labels. I always chill my cake and then do a thin crumb coat of icing and chill again.  This gives a nice smooth base before adding the final buttercream.