A modern twist on an old classic, the Victoria sandwich. I love cream, I love berries and I love nuts. Here I have incorporated them all in one delicious cake. A slice of this, ten minutes to myself, a steaming cup of fragrant jasmine tea and the world would simply fall away. On a recent visit to my friend Sadie Frost’s house, I took her some cakes to share for an afternoon tea, and one of her gorgeous sons, upon seeing this cake, said: ‘Baking cakes like this is like being a superhero’. Possibly the best compliment I have ever had.
serves 8–10
Ingredients:
115g hazelnuts
260g unsalted butter, really soft
225g white spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large free-range eggs
130g honey (or golden caster sugar)
130g maple syrup
Finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed lemon
for the filling
350ml double cream
2 –3 tablespoons honey
2–3 tablespoons sugar-free blueberry jam
200g fresh blueberries
Violas to decorate (optional)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Grease and flour 2 × 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins.
Start by toasting your hazelnuts in the oven for 5–7 minutes; check after 5, they burn easily. Once they are changing colour and releasing their lovely nutty aroma, remove them from the oven and leave to cool for a minute or two before rubbing off most of the skins. Whizz the nuts in a food processor into a fine meal.
To make this all-in-one cake, simply sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat in all the other ingredients using an electric handmixer or Kitchenaid. Be careful not to over-mix – you want a light cake. Scrape the cake mixture into your prepared tins and level the top with the back of a spoon or a palette knife. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden and risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before carefully taking them out of their tins and placing on a cooling rack.
When the cakes have cooled you can get on with making the honey cream. Lightly whip the cream until very soft peaks form, drizzle in the honey and whisk again until incorporated. Take one spoonful of jam at a time and carefully marble it through the cream.
If your cakes are very peaked you may wish to trim the tops so you have a nice flat surface to decorate. Then carefully place one cake on your cake plate, spoon over two thirds of the marbled honey cream, and place the second cake on top. Spread the remaining third of the honey cream on the top of the second cake, then sprinkle the fresh blueberries over the cream and scatter with beautiful violas if you wish.
From Love Bake Nourish by Amber Rose, with photography by Ali Allen
Published by Kyle Books and distributed in New Zealand by New Holland, RRP $45.00
Read the Kiwi Families review of Love Bake Nourish here.
