Duck Egg Cake With Rosemary Food

DUCK EGG VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (355 fahrenheit) and grease and line two 20cm/8″ shallow cake tins with rounds of baking parchment.
• Weight the duck eggs still in their shells. You'll need margarine or butter, sugar and flour in the same weights as the duck eggs to get a perfect cake every time!
• In a large bowl and using an electric hand whisk whizz together the margarine or butter, and the sugar until light, fluffy and pale.
• Beat in the eggs one by one, along with the vanilla extract. If you're using duck eggs from a farm rather than a supermarket, crack each one into a small dish to check it is okay before adding it to the mix - I had a rotten one the other day and it was one of the worst things that had ever been in my kitchen!
• Beat in the flour until combined, followed by the two spoonfuls of just boiled water to create a smooth batter.
• Divide the mix between the two cake tins, making sure you have smooth tops for even baking. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the sponges are springy, golden, and if you insert the tip of a cake tester or a very sharp knife it comes out clean.
• Run a very sharp knife around the edge of each cake to help them come out of the tins later, and leave them to cool on wire racks. Once the tins are cool enough to touch, carefully turn out the cakes to cool completely. To get an even cake, choose the best looking sponge for the top and cool that one right way up, and leave the other to cool upside down.
• Meanwhile to make the buttercream filling, beat together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla extract until smooth. If you need to loosen the mixture a little to make it more spreadable, add a tiny splash of milk. Only do this bit by bit, however, because if you add too much at once it can cause your icing to split. (If this does happen, add a little more icing sugar, beat hard, and keep doing this until it comes good again!)
• Once the sponges are completely cool place the bottom sponge upside down on a cake stand or serving dish. Spread the top with the buttercream - I use a small pallet knife for this - just to the edges. Spoon a generous amount of raspberry jam on top and also spread it to the edges with the back of the spoon before popping on the lid. Using a sieve (I have a mini one for things like this) dust the top of the cake generously with icing sugar (though sometimes in our house we use vanilla infused caster sugar instead!) - this will help cover up any bubbles or imperfections in the finished sponge.

DUCK EGG SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease then line 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment and grease the parchment too.
• Crack the duck eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk for about 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Keep whisking as you add the melted butter, a little at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
• Fold in the flour and baking powder with a large metal spoon until you can't see any pockets of flour. Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and bake for 35 mins or until bouncy to the touch and a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin, then turn out onto wire racks when cool enough to handle.
• To make the buttercream, tip the butter into a big bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk. Add the icing sugar, 2-3 tbsp at a time, until it's all incorporated, adding the milk halfway through the process. Scrape the seeds out of a vanilla pod, add them in and whisk again. Transfer half the buttercream to another bowl and, if using, stir your food colouring into one of the mixtures. I used blue and a dash of green to create a classic duck egg shade.
• When the buttercream mixtures are ready and the cake is cold, level the cakes with a bread knife, cut each one in half through the middle and stick all the layers together with the uncoloured buttercream. Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of the coloured buttercream - this will seal in any crumbs. Chill the cake for 30 mins, then cover with the rest of the buttercream and use a palette knife or pastry scraper to make the buttercream flat.
• To finish, sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of cocoa powder onto the cake to create a speckled design. Repeat this in different sections of the cake, then top with a cluster of mini chocolate eggs and serve. Will keep for 2-3 days.