“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.”
― Jim Bishop

If I had to settle for just one cake to make come autumn, this would be it. It’s not complicated, but the flavours capture the season in every mouthful. Warmth, sweetness and spice are perfectly balanced in a tender and feather-light sponge while the silky lightness of the Swiss meringue buttercream contrasts beautifully against the deep warmth of the cake’s spices.

Notes

– Baking tip: This recipe already yields a very light cake, but if you want to achieve bakery softness of texture try using cake flour. Better still, if you have the time, separate your eggs. Add the yolks into the batter and in a separate squeaky clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites and then fold the egg whites in with the finished batter.

– The buttercream –

• Swiss meringue buttercream can be left covered at room temperature for one to two days. After that, it can be refrigerated for up to five days or placed in the freezer for up to three months. If freezing, store in an airtight container and when ready to use, thaw to room temperature. Once at room temperature (22°C/72°F), place in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat for 2-3 minutes until creamy again. 
• Be careful not to use butter that is too warm – remove from the fridge and set it out for just 30-40 minutes before you need to add it to the meringue. It should be a little cooler than room temperature (16°C/60°C). 
• You can use cold egg whites here – it actually aids in the separation of the eggs if they are cold.
• Unlike many baking disasters, there is almost always a way to fix a ‘ruined’ Swiss Meringue Buttercream – see tips below for this.

Resolving common issues with Swiss meringue buttercream

Meringue Won’t Reach Stiff Peaks 

– A squeaky clean, dry bowl is crucial for meringue mixture – you won’t achieve stiff peaks if there was even a tiny drop of egg yolk, fat or grease in the mixture, mixing bowl, or on any tools you are using. Have squeaky clean tools and when separating your eggs make sure not a drop of egg yolk sneaks into the egg whites.

– It’s also helpful to avoid making this on more humid days where there’s extra moisture in the air.

– If you still have issues reaching stiff peaks, the meringue could be too warm or it needs a pause – if you’ve been mixing a long time and the mixture is still warm or stiff peaks haven’t quite formed, by all means pause the mixing for a while. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes before continuing. 

Buttercream is curdled or too thick Have faith and keep beating because it will eventually come together again. If it seems to only be getting thicker, place the mixture in your heat-proof bowl back over a pot of 2 inches of simmering water. Without stirring, let the edges warm up and become liquid (the centre will still be solid) – this should take just 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and return to the mixer. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to medium-high speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The melting and re-whipping step can actually result in a creamier buttercream so you may find that far from having lost, you’ve gained.

Buttercream is too thin This is likely due to the butter being too warm when added or the meringue being too warm when you started beating if you weren’t careful enough checking temperature. This is fixable by bringing down its temperature. Place the entire bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool down, then return it to the mixer and beat on medium-high speed until thickened. Any longer than this will solidify the butter, so only refrigerate in 20 minute spurts. If it’s still thin, place back in the refrigerator for longer before re-whipping again.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Equipment:

• 2 x 6 inch cake tins (15cm)
• sugar thermometer (essential for Swiss meringue buttercream)
• saucepan
• medium mixing bowl
• electric stand mixer (we use our KitchenAid)

Serves: 8-10

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INGREDIENTS

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The cake batter:

• 170g butter (unsalted)
• 170g sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla essence
• 170g plain flour
• 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1½ teaspoons ginger
• 1½ teaspoons mixed spice

The Swiss meringue buttercream:

• 3 egg whites 
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 175 grams unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

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METHOD

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Preheat the oven to 160°C fan oven. Grease and line your an 8 inch, 20cm, round tin.

The cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 165C/330F/Gas mark 3 and line your cake tin.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, using an electric mixer if you have one.
3. Continue to beat in eggs, a little at a time, and add the vanilla essence. You can alternatively chose to separate your eggs for this stage for an extra tender cake – if separating, add the egg yolks now and continue on with the steps below, remembering at the end to whip your eggs separately in a squeaky clean bowl before adding them in very gently to the final mix.
4. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder gently being careful not to beat out the air. You should have a smooth batter. Add the milk. The mixture should be a soft dropping consistency.
5. Add the ginger and mixed spice until fully incorporated.
6. Spoon the mixture equally into the cake tins, levelling well for a consistent bake. 
7. Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, testing with a knife or cake tester.
8. Set aside to cool.

The swiss meringue buttercream:

1. Lightly whisk the egg whites and sugar in a large metal bowl (ideally the bowl of your stand-mixer – I use the metal bowl of my KitchenAid).
2. Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with just two inches of simmering water over medium heat. Do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. You can improvise for this and use a metal ring baking cutter for example on which you can balance the bowl to keep the bowl suspended over the simmering water. If you’re using a bain-marie or double boiler you will have to transfer the mixture into your stand mixer bowl once ready, so improvising with a metal cutter or similar often proves the best and easiest option here.
3. Gently whisk the mixture constantly over the heat until it reaches 72º Celsius (161º farenheit) on a sugar thermometer. Be sure to take careful readings and remove once you reach the correct temperature. 
4. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer, and while the mixture is still warm whisk on medium-high speed. Continue whisking steadily for at least ten minutes until glossy stiff peaks form and and the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. If it’s still not reaching stiff peaks, stop the mixer, place the bowl (uncovered) in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then return to the mixer and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Also be sure to check that once you have achieved stiff glossy peaks on your meringue you give it a quick fold to ensure that the meringue underneath is also at the stiff glossy stage. 
5. If the bowl and meringue still feel warm, wait until both cool to room temperature (around 21°C/ 70°F) before adding the butter in the next step. Do not add the butter too early – a warm bowl and meringue will melt the butter.
6. Switch over to the paddle attachment and on the lowest speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Ensure each spoonful is incorporated before adding the next.
7. Once all the butter is added, continue to beat on low speed for another few minutes until the buttercream is thick and silky smooth. Add the vanilla and pinch of salt to taste. 

Assembling the cake:

1. Level off the two cake layers.
2. Place the first cake layer, cut side facing up, onto a serving plate or cake stand. 
3. Using an offset spatula, spread a thick layer of buttercream over the top of the cake.
4. Gently place the second cake layer on top, cut side facing down. Thickly ice the top with a generous amount of buttercream to match the first layer.
5. You can now choose to frost the rest of the cake either thinly or thickly. I kept the final buttercream coating thin for a naked cake effect. To do this, use an icing spreader/smoother to sweep a thin coating of buttercream round your cake, allowing it to be randomly thinner and thicker in places, and then give a final neat edge to the top layer using your offset spatula or knife.
6. If looking for a thick buttercream layer round your cake, it is important to avoid dragging up the crumb – crumbs can easily migrate into the outer layer while trying to perfect the finish. For best results, use the icing spreader as in step 5 to sweep a thin layer of buttercream all the way round your cake, then set the cake in the refrigerator to chill this crumb coat. About 20 minutes. Once set, remove the cake from the refrigerator and use the icing spreader to add a final thick layer of buttercream. 
7. Serve with a pot of tea.