Rosewater Raspberry Sponge Cake Food

RASPBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Oil a deep, 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment. Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
• Mix the oil, yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest in another bowl. Tip in the flour and sugar mixture and fold in until smooth. Gently fold in the raspberries and bake for 30-40 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve topped with more raspberries, if you like. Will keep for up to three days in an airtight container.

CLASSIC SPONGE CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES AND CREAM FILLING

Steps:

• You will need 2 8-inch sponge tins, lightly greased and lined with parchment paper.
• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3/325F/170°C.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour and baking powder.
• Add all the other 'sponge' ingredients to the bowl and whisk everything together until you have a smooth, well-combined mixture which will take about a minute.
• The mixture should drop easily off a spoon when you give it a tap (if it seems a little too stiff, add 1 tablespoon of water and mix again).
• Now divide the mixture between the 2 prepared tins and level it.
• Place on the centre shelf of the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes (DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR for the 1st 30 minutes).
• To test if they are cooked, touch the centre lightly with your finger - if it leaves no impression and springs back, the cake is cooked.
• Remove them from the oven and let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning them out on to a wire rack.
• Carefully peel off the base papers and leave the sponges to get completely cold.
• For the filling, beat the double cream till soft peak.
• Now on the base layer, first spread half of the jam then spread half of the double cream and then scatter the raspberries all over.
• Spread the remaining cream and drizzle the rest of the jam.
• Place the second layer on top, press very lightly to sandwich everything together.
• Lightly dust the top of the cake with icing sugar before serving.

ENGLISH ROSE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of 3 x 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tins with baking parchment. Tip all the ingredients for the cake into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until well combined. Divide the mixture between the 3 cake tins and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 mins, swapping the tins halfway through so they cook evenly. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the rose syrup, put the sugar in a pan with 100ml water and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bubble for 1-2 mins, then remove from the heat. Add the rose water: start with 1 tsp and taste, as some varieties are much stronger than others - just be careful as the syrup will be really hot. Spoon half the syrup over the 3 sponges and set aside.
• Add 2 tbsp of the syrup to the raspberries and crush them with a fork. Push the raspberries through a sieve into a bowl and discard the seeds. Sift in the icing sugar and mix to a smooth icing. In a second bowl, add another 2 tbsp of the syrup and the vanilla to the cream and whisk until it holds soft peaks. Chill until needed.
• To assemble, place one cake, flat-side up, on a plate or cake stand, and top with half the cream and a third of the remaining raspberries (see tips, below). Sandwich another cake on top and add the remaining cream, another third of the raspberries, then the last cake. Smooth the raspberry icing over the top, letting it drizzle down the sides. To decorate, we used a mixture of rose petal pieces (available from cookshops or online), homemade crystallised rose petals (see step-by-step, above) and the reserved raspberries.