Preheat oven to 350 F

for the cake
1 cup unsalted butter, very soft
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups self-rising cake flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder (if using Cuisinart)
3-4 tablespoons milk

for the filling
2-4 tablespoons raspobeery or other jame, depending on berries
1/2 pint raspberries or berries of choice
1/2 cup heavy cream

for the topping
1-2 tablespoons sugar

Put all cake ingredients except for the milk in the Cuisinart and pulse, pouring the milk gradually through the funnel until your cake mixture is a soft, dropping consistency. For me this usually takes a couple of minutes. If the ingredients are too cold your batter may look curdled, but you can bake the cake this way and it will taste fine. It may not rise as much, though.

Pour and scrape the batter into two 8X2 inch cake pans, buttered and lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cakes are beginning to come away at the edges, are springy to the touch on top, and a cake tester comes out clean. Leave the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out and leaving to cool completely.

When you're ready to eat the cake, put one layer on a plate, right-way up, spread with jam and scatter the fruit on top. Whip the cream until it's thickened but still soft and spread over the jammy fruit. Put the other cake on top, and sprinkle a tablespoon or so of sugar on top.

Modifications

I redid this cake using a chocolate-hazelnut theme. First, I added some hazelnut meal (roasted and ground hazelnuts) to the sponge cake batter when it was almost done in the Cuisinart. This changed the consistency of the cake from a sponge to something similar to a crepe. It deflated into a pancake after it was taken out of the oven. I made three cakes, so it needed two fillings - Nutella and a chocolate ganache. When I assembled the layers, I poured Frangelico over the cakes and left it to soak in. When the cake was assembled, I frosted it with whipped cream.

Chocolate ganache
5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate and the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the cream. Make sure to mix it together slowly or the chocolate will become lumpy. Add the vanilla extract. The ganache needs to be cooled to room temperature before being used in the cake, so I put the pan in a sink of cold water for a couple of minutes and then it in the fridge.

29 June 2008