Iced VoVo Cake

January 26th is Australia Day, and here is the easiest, yummiest and very Australian cake for you to make. The Arnott's Iced VoVo biscuit has been around for a long time in Australia, a pretty little plain biscuit topped with pink fondant, a strip of jam down the middle and dessicated coconut. You can read more about its history here. I've always thought it was one of the prettiest biscuits around, although personally I always go for the Tim Tams instead. I was sitting around thinking about what to bake for Australia Day, and the idea for an Iced VoVo cake came to me. A giant, cake version of this iconic biscuit? So simple, yet all those flavours were certain to work well on a cake. And I had all the ingredients in my house.

Sorry these aren't the best photos I've ever taken, it was 7 in the morning before work and a very awkward size and shape for me to shoot! It doesn't really do the cake justice. The cake took me about an hour to make, which is freakin awesome by my standards. And it tastes just like an iced vovo biscuit according to my trusty taste-testers. I still can't get over how easy it was, and the fact that I never thought about making this before! Though I did squirm a bit when I realised that this is something like the fourth pink recipe that I've posted in a row. That's just way too much pink for me.

The cake is a super simple butter cake which requires you to dump everything in a mixing bowl and beat it together until it's smooth then bake it until it's a beautiful, buttery cake. The pink icing was something I improvised with a little, since I didn't think a plain butter icing was close enough to the icing you get on the real biscuits. So I added some melted marshmallows which made the icing a little stiffer and slightly lighter. A stream of jam down the middle and topped off with a ton of coconut. I kinda love the result. Perfect for an Australia Day picnic or barbeque, or for any occasion. The kids will love it. And the adults will too...unless they have issues with coconut...or jam. How can you not love jam??

Iced VoVo Cake
(cake adapted from a simple butter cake recipe, serves 10)
Melted butter, to grease
1 1/2 cups (275g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
2/3 cup (155ml) milk
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

For the topping:
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
125g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups white or pink marshmallows
Pink food colouring
1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jam, whisked until smooth
1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Preheat oven to 140°C (285°F). Position a rack on the second lowest shelf of the oven. Brush a 17x27cm rectangular slice/brownie tin with the melted butter to lightly grease. Line base and sides with non-stick baking paper.

Place the self-raising flour, plain flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla essence in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to beat on low speed for 30 seconds or until just combined. Increase the speed to high and beat for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and all the butter is incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack for 30 minutes or until completely cool.

To prepare the icing, remove butter from the fridge 30 mins before starting (i.e. while you are waiting for the cake to cool). Place butter and sifted icing sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add pink food colouring to lightly tint pink. Place marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute, enough to cause it to expand and melt the whole way through. (This can also be done in a pan over low heat) Using a spatula, transfer melted marshmallows to the mixing bowl and beat until smooth.

Spread the mixture over the top of the cooled cake in two large strips, leaving a gap in the middle for the jam. Smooth surface of icing with a spatula. Carefully dollop jam along the middle strip of the cake, taking care not to let it overflow down the sides. Sprinkle dessicated coconut over the icing and jam. Can be served immediately or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Have a Happy Australia Day everyone!