almond sponge cake
with raspberry cream and
whipped white chocolate ganache
- 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 eggs
- ¾ cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
- ½ cup (60g) almond meal (ground almonds)
- 75g unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (250ml) double (thick) cream
- 1 cup (250ml) pure (whipping) cream
- 2 tablespoons pure icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
- 2 cups (250g) raspberries
- 2 cups (250g) blueberries
- 1 cup (350g) store-bought lemon curd
Whipped white chocolate ganache
- 1¾ cups (430ml) pure (whipping) cream
- 250g white chocolate, finely chopped
To decorate
- nasturtium leaves and micro (baby) edible flowers
- To make the whipped white chocolate ganache, place the cream in a small saucepan over medium–low heat. Bring to just below boiling. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot cream over. Stir until smooth. Using a handheld stick blender, blend for 30 seconds. Refrigerate for 2–3 hours or overnight+.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Generously grease 2 x 9cm x 25cm loaf tins++.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together 3 times and set aside.
- Place the eggs, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 10–12 minutes or until pale, thick and tripled in volume.
- Sift half the flour mixture into the egg mixture and, using a large metal spoon, gently fold to combine. Sift in the remaining flour mixture and the almond meal and gently fold to combine. Add the butter and gently fold to combine. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the cakes are springy to the touch and come away from the sides of the tins. Turn out onto wire racks covered with clean tea towels and allow to cool completely, then cut each cake in half horizontally. Set aside.
- Whisk the creams and icing sugar together until soft peaks form.
- When ready to assemble, using an electric mixer, whip the white chocolate ganache mixture until soft peaks just start to form.
- Place 2 cake halves on a serving plate or board, or directly onto the table on a piece of non-stick baking paper. Top with dollops of whipped cream and half the lemon curd. Top with half the raspberries and half the blueberries. Finish with another layer of cake.
- Dollop the ganache over the cakes. Decorate with the remaining lemon curd, raspberries, blueberries, the nasturtium leaves and edible flowers. Serves 10–12
Cook’s notes:
+ The secret to achieving the most velvety frosting is to use a handheld stick blender to emulsify the chocolate and the cream.
++ To grease the tins, brush them with melted butter and dust with caster (superfine) sugar.
© DONNA HAY GROUP
