This cake was made early last month for my birthday. Yes, I made my own birthday cake! I had seen this recipe in the Australian Women’s Weekly book ‘Indulgent Cakes’ a few months earlier, and never had a reason to make such a big cake. So when it came to deciding what to make for my birthday, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make it.
This cake combines two things that I really love - raspberry and rosewater. You may have noticed I use these two ingredients a lot, particularly together. I actually have to try and not use them so much now, so my blog isn’t just a how-to on using raspberries and rosewater!
The icing of this cake is marshmallowy, and the cake itself is pink. Also two things I love. Marshmallows and anything pink. This cake was definitely the right choice for my birthday!
I made the cakes the day before and stored them between baking paper in air-tight containers overnight. The icing needs to be made then used straight away. It is also best to assemble and ice the cake just before you want to serve it, as the icing is at its best straight away.
This cake can (and should) be stored in fridge, and will last a couple of days (the icing will start to dissolve away however).
Ingredients for the Cake:
250 g unsalted butter, softened
6 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups caster sugar
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp bicarb soda
2 tsp white vinegar
3 tsp pink food colouring
Ingredients for the Filling:
185 g raspberries
1 tbsp rosewater
300 ml thickened cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
Ingredients for the Icing:
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp glucose syrup
2 tbsp water
3 tsp rosewater
3 egg whites
fresh raspberries, for decoration
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line two 20cm round baking tins three times.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Then add the buttermilk, egg whites, sugar, flour and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl combine the white vinegar and bicarb soda. This mixture should become foamy. Add the pink colouring to the vinegar mixture. Then add the vinegar mixture to the main cake mix. Beat on a low speed until everything has combined, then beat for a couple of minutes on medium speed until the mixture turns a paler colour.
Divide the cake mix evenly between the two prepared tins, and bake for 45 minutes. Test cakes with a skewer to ensure they are cooked through. Allow the cakes to stand in their tins for a few minutes, then turn them onto baking paper lined cooling racks (top side of cake facing down).
Once the cakes are cool, carefully cut them in half. Place one of the layers on a serving plate, cake stand or board. Set aside.
To make the filling, lightly squash the raspberries in a small bowl with the rosewater. In a separate bowl beat the cream and icing sugar until the cream forms stiff peaks. Fold the raspberries into the cream. Spread one-third of the cream onto the base layer of the cake, and top with the next layer. Repeat with the remaining layers, finishing with a final layer of cake.
To make the icing, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixture. Then place 2/3 cup of the sugar, water, glucose and rosewater in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil, and allow to boil for 3 minutes, or until a small amount can be rolled into a soft ball once dropped in cold water. If you have a sugar thermometer, the syrup should be 115 degrees Celsius at this stage. Once the syrup is boiling, start beating the egg whites until soft peaks form. Then beat in the remaining sugar.
Remove the syrup from the heat and allow the bubbles to settle. With the mixer running, add the syrup to the egg whites in a thin stream. Beat on high speed for about five minutes, by which time the icing should have thickened and cooled.
Use icing immediately, trying to ice the top and sides of the cake evenly. Decorate with fresh raspberries.
Recipe originally from, The Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Indulgent Cakes’ (2014, Bauer Media Books), pp.140-145.
All baking, styling & photography for this post by Kathryn Vincent of Kulinary Adventures of Kath.