This cake is really something. If you close your eyes and eat this cake, your teeth will slowly sink into the moist sponge and then will hit the raspberry compote and just as you are about to open your eyes, the beautiful silky buttercream enlightens your tounges tastebuds!
It is kinda a mix of seasons. because it looks wintery with the icing sugar mimiced as snow, but who has fresh raspberries in the depths of winter. I know in new Zealand it would be very bizzare.
This is the blog that I got the inspiration from and if you would like to see their post, check it out here! http://vikalinka.com/2013/12/27/frostbitten-raspberry-cake/
You may have noticed I haven't watermarked my photos. Well I have some pretty sad news for you, well mainly myself. My belovered Nikon has taken a trip for the worse. My first dlsr d3200 has got a tiny chip stuck under the sprigs of the SD Card slot. This prevents the memory card from reading.
Enough technical information, it was going to cost quite a lot and when it came down to it with technology moving so fast I felt it was better to upgrade and would help me in the long run.
So I did not have a camera to do any food photography that weekend and was pretty gutted with such a good looking cake.
This cake has 3 sponge layers, each layer having raspberry coulli and the whole cake incased in vanilla swiss buttercream.
This cake is so delicous, I took it back to the hostel and one of my good friends said it was the nicest thing she had tasted of mine. So if you need a simple cake to impress someone special. This cake is perfect, it looks elegant and beautiful but is such a simple cake!
Today I will be showing you how to make the sponge for the cake layers, and the assembling of this cake.
The raspberry coulli, buttercream, cream cheese filling and decoarting are not included.
Lets begin....
Line your cake tin, I used a 6inch pan, you can use whatever size you want but will just have to adjust your baking time.
Measure your eggs and sugar.
Beat your eggs and sugar together, until it is thick and pale in colour. It should leave a ribbion trail as demonstrated in the last photo.
Sift in flour, baking powder and salt.
With a big metal spoon, very gently fold the flour into the sponge mix.
Once all flour lumps have dissaperared. Pour half the batter in the cake pan.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer has been inserted and comes our clean.
Prepare your cake board by cutting out a piece of cardboard the same size as your baked cake.
Smooth a piece of icing on the cardboard, this will adhere the cake to the cake board and stop it from slipping while you decoarte it.
Prepare your piping bag by putting it over a cup.
Pour the cream cheese filling in the piping bag, and squeeze gently till it reaches the tip of the nozzle. Use a 1A Nozzle (just a round tip)
Move your first layer onto the small piece of icing and adhere it to the cardboard.
With your preperpared cream cheese frosting, pipe a barrier around the first layer. This will stop the coulli from escaping.
Pour the coulli onto the sponge.
Place a second layer on top of the previous layer.
Repeat the steps from above.
Cover the second layer with the last layer of sponge.
Place a fair amount of icing on the top layer and smooth gradually working down to the sides.
Place the last sponge layer on top, bottom side up so it is smooth and no crumbs around.
Place a good amount of buttercream on the top and begin your crumb coat of the cake.
Start smoothing the top and gradually work down to the bottom and sides of the cake.
Once you are happy with the crumb coat, place in the fridge for an hour to set
Begin the next layer of icing and make it smoother. Do 3 layers of icing in total, repeating the process of putting it in the fridge to set inbetween layers.
Here is the recipe...
This is a gluten free recipe, I had 5 gluten free have this cake and they all were very complementry. So if you have a friend or framily memeber that has an intolerence or has coeliac. I highly recommened this cake!
Gluten Free Sponge
5 eggs
200g sugar
1 cup gluten free flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
3 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
226g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tsp of vanilla paste/extract/bean.
Raspberry Compote
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar (don't want it to sweet so you have sour and sweet contrast)
1 cup frozen raspberries
2 TBSP water
Cream Cheese Frosting
50g cream cheese
1/8 cup icing sugar
1 tsp gelatin
1 TBSP water
50ml cream
Garnishes
Fresh Raspberries
Rosemary Sprig or 2
Icing sugar
Method
Sponge
-Preheat oven to 160 degrees-Line a 6 inch baking pan with baking paper. Set aside
- Place sugar and eggs in a clean glass bowl and beat on high for 8-10 minutes till the beaters leave a thick ribbion.
-Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
-Sift the dry ingredients into the gg mixture in 3 increments until all the mixture is well incoperated.
-Pour half the batter into the cake pan.
-Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking until the skewer comes out clean.
-Place on a cooling tray and allow the cake to cool.
-Cut into 2 serperate layers when the sponge is cool.
Buttercream
-Place the egg whites and sugar over a double boiler, not allowing the water to touch the bottom of the bowl that has the egg whites/sugar mixture in.
-Over simmering water constanly whisk the egg whites with a hand whisk and a bit of elbow grease. Constanly whisk the mixture to prevent them from cooking to early. When you can feel some of the mixture inbetween your fingers and feel no sugar grains. This mixture is at the right temperature.
-On low speed on your eletric micture, whisk the mix for another 5 minutes until the bowl is netruel to touch and not hot.
-Slowly add your cubed butter at room temperature one at a time.
-Mix until it is lovely and smooth.
Compote
-Combine raspberries, sugar and water in a pot.
-Leave to break down over low heat with a bit of help from you breaking up the frozen raspberries.
-Once it has broken down, leave it to simmer for 10 minutes. Not too long because you are not making jam and if you leave it for too long it will become jam.
-Once simmered leave to stand to cool.
Cream Cheese
-Combine cream cheese, icing sugar and mix till soft.
-Balloon gelatin in 1 TBSP of water and leave to stand.
-Whisk 50ml of cream until soft peaks form and set aside.
-When gelatin has ballooned melt in the microwave until it turns liquid.
-Add the whipped cream and gelatin to the cream cheese frostin and mix till combined.
Assembly
-With a cutout piece of cardboard the same size as your cake as your cake board,place a dallop of icing on the cake board and smooth.
-Place one layer of sponge on top of the icing and press down gently.
-Pipe a barrier of cream cheese frosting around the edge of the cake.
-Pour the coulli into the middle of the barrier.
-Repeat this for all the layers of the cakes.
-Ice the cake beginning on top and working down to the sides. When a crumb coat (rough icing to seal the crumbs quite thin) is complete refridgerate for 1 hour.
-Ice the cake and begin making this layer nice. Refridgerate that layer of icing until set.
-Repeat once more making the last layer the cleaniest and sharpest.
-Granish with fresh raspberries, fresh rosemary sprig and a dusting of icing sugar.
Serve all by its self because its delicious!
Until next time lovelies...
