Simple pink flower cake using M&M’s

Birthday cakes are a must when we celebrate birthdays in this household. The girls go crazy over blowing out the candles, and often cake trumps all the prezzies they were spoilt with! But you’re never going to catch me paying a few hundred dollars for a special cake when I know I can whip one up myself in my own kitchen.

This cake recipe is almost foolproof – it’s adapted slightly from the original Edmond’s Cookbook (a true OG!!!) and then decorated simply, but in an aesthetic way. If you’re a girl mum or baking for a friend, this simple butter cake recipe with pink flower decorations is pretty hard to screw up!

This cake is used making pantry staples, so it is simple and cost-effective. I double the recipe to make a layered cake and you could even triple it if you wish!

You also don’t need any fancy tools to make and decorate this cake. I do use a stand mixer to mix but honestly, using a good old butter knofe or handheld mixer does the trick too! To get the smooth finish on the final cake I used a stainless steel ruler I had lying around in the junk drawer (cleaned before I used it of course!!).

Simple Butter Cake with Pink M&M Flower Decorations

This Simple Butter Cake with Pink M&M Flower Decorations is a delightful, foolproof classic adapted directly from the iconic Edmonds Cookery Book. Baked with rich butter and standard pantry staples, this tender and easy-to-bake cake is topped with smooth pink buttercream and decorated with charming M&M floral details. It is the ultimate go-to recipe for kids' birthday parties, afternoon teas, or whenever you need an easy, crowd-pleasing celebration cake.

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Servings: 8 people

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 150 g Butter softened
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Essence
• 3/4 C White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 1/2 C Plain White Flour
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 C Milk approx

For Decorating

• 100 g Butter softened
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 2 C Icing Sugar sifted
• 1-2 Tbsp Boiling Water
• 2 Tbsp Cocoa (Optional, sifted in with icing sugar if you wanted it to be chocolate)
• 1 Drop Pink Food Colouring don't use this if you have added cocoa
• 1 Bag M&M's sorted into groups of one yellow and six of a matching colour.

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 180°c fanbake and prepare your cake tin. I use a 20cm cake tin and usually double this recipe so I can get a layered cake.
2. Cream softened butter, vanilla and sugar together for approx five minutes until light, fluffy and pale yellow.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixig well after each addition.
4. Sift flour and baking powder together. Fold them into the creamed mixture until just mixed.
5. Add milk slowly until you get a soft, pancake batter like consitency.
6. Pop into cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
7. Leave in tin for 10 minutes before taking out and placing on cooling rack.
8. Once cooled completely, get ready to crumb coat.

Crumb Coat

If you have doubled the recipe to make a layered cake, crumb coat each cake fully and individually. Then stack it. The crumb coat in between will help the layers stick together. You could also use jam, or extra buttercream in the filling if you wish!!
I like to make my crumb coat pink too (or same colour as final cake) so any extra icing leftover I can put towards the final product!
1. Cream softened butter for five minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add in vanilla
3. Gradually add in sifted icing sugar, beating until smooth.
4. Add a drop or two of food colouring
5. Add hot water a tiny bit at a time until it achieves spreading consistency.
6. Lather cake in the icing, scraping it around so it is smoothish. The crumb coat doesn't need to look pretty it's just to set the crumbs and help make the final product look nice and smooth as all the pesky crumbs are glued down.
7. Place in fridge for at least one hour. I often do overnight as I can then ice it fresh on the day of the party the next day!

Final layer

1. Prepare icing just as you did the crumb coat, double it if needed.
2. Lather the cake up in it, using your butter knife to spread
3. Take your time to cover every inch of the cake and make it smooth. A ruler can help out big time in spreading the icing here!!
4. Place M&M flower clusters over the cake as you wish