Improving Cakes and Victoria Sponge Recipe

I made this bunny cake for a first birthday.

I'm not good at practicing to get better. It's been a downfall of mine since I was a kid--if I can't do something well from the beginning, I tend just to not do it or give up. And I'm not sure if it's because of social media or if it's just me, but I like being told I'm good at something and taking criticism to get better is not my strong point.

While some people, I'm sure, can just pick up a bowl without ever having done it before and be a perfect baker, I am not one of them. The difference this time is while in other areas I would have given up by now, I want to keep trying with baking. It's been good for my relationship with criticism, as well. I've learnt to not only accept criticism, but to encourage it and to be my own critic.

Just know that if you want to try baking or to be a better cook, all you have to do is try it. And keep trying. Don't give up. You won't be perfect straight away. Your cakes may sink, or the buttercream may be runny, or you may leave something out and the cake turns rock hard. If you mess up, read the recipe carefully again, think about what you did wrong, learn from it, and try it again. You will improve.

Here are the cakes I've made since I started being serious about baking, in the order that I made them. I'm happy that I can see an improvement, but there's still quite a lot more that I can be better at. I'm not going to give up though. I found something I love, and I want to keep going.

I made this cake before Christmas...can you spot the main issue?
Yep, runny buttercream.

Much better buttercream! This sponge was delicious as well,
but needed to roast the pecans before I put them on the cake.

This cake was for my father-in-law's birthday. I was quite happy with it,
but I didn't whip the buttercream enough (hence the yellowy hue), and I would
like to have blended the green a little better.

My most recent cake that I did today. First time doing fondant, and I can't wait to work with it more!

If you're interested in giving the bunny cake a go, here's the video of the tutorial I used. I recommend following Cakes By Lynz on Youtube. She's very good at explaining things!

The sponge is a Victoria Sponge with vanilla buttercream filling and strawberry jam. Here's the recipe for the sponge:

Victoria Sponge

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
200g self raising flour
pinch of salt
2tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream:
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
500g icing sugar
2TBSP milk
1tsp vanilla extract

Strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 180º C. Line three 15cm cake pans with parchment paper.

With a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder, and pour in the vanilla. Mix well until combined.

Spread evenly into the prepared cake tins. Use a spatula to spread batter fully around the tin, but make sure it is piled a little in the centre.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the buttercream. Whip the butter until it is lighter in colour (about 5 minutes). Sift in the icing sugar, add the vanilla and milk, and continue to whip with your hand or stand mixer for 10 minutes, until the icing is combined, light and fluffy, and white in colour.

To assemble, level out the cake tops using a serated knife. Place one of the levelled cakes on your stand. Spread a few spoonfuls of your buttercream evenly over the cake. Top with a thin layer of strawberry jam. Place the next levelled cake on top, and repeat with the buttercream and jam. Turn the final cake upside down, and place it on top, bottom-side up. Crumb coat, then ice or decorate following the linked video tutorial.