xmas month 2021 - very berry trifle

xmas month 2021 - very berry trifle

20 Dec 2021

Welcome to the final recipe for Xmas month 2021, a recipe for my Very Berry Trifle. Is it even Christmas if you don't serve trifle?

 

This trifle will feed a family and I want you to think of this as a suggestion rather than a recipe. You can choose the fruit and the flavour of the jelly and alcohol to suit your taste and the seasons. Instead of sponge cake, you could use meringues, jam rolls, sponge fingers or even macarons. If you’re serving the trifle to children you could use fruit juice, vanilla flavoured milk or sugar syrup instead of alcohol to soak the cake. If you like, you can make all the elements from scratch or you can purchase them, the choice is yours. I decided to buy a ready made sponge but made the jelly and custard from scratch. 

Trifle can't be rushed and it's best made the day before serving then decorated on the day. You need time for the jelly to set and the custard to cool. 

Remember to make start the trifle the day before you plan to serve it. Here’s the recipe for you which makes 4 litres of trifle, which is large enough to feed a crowd.  For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. The jelly was adapted from a Donna Hay recipe.

Very Berry Trifle 

1 quantity berry jelly, recipe below

1 8 inch unfilled double layer sponge cake

⅓ cup raspberry jam

¼ cup Marsala or sherry

500mls (2 cups) vanilla bean custard

250g punnet strawberries, halved and sprinkled with 2 tsps sugar

300 mls cream

250g mascarpone

2 tbs caster sugar
 

To serve 

punnets of fresh berries and a few mint leaves or shaved pistachios

Berry jelly 

3½ tsp gelatine powder

750 mls cranberry drink

½ cup caster sugar or to taste

125g frozen mixed berries

125g fresh strawberries, halved

Vanilla bean custard 

1 cup full cream milk

1 cup thickened cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

4 egg yolks

1 tbsp cornflour

1/3 cup caster sugar or to taste

Berry jelly 

To make the jelly, place the gelatine and ½ cup (125 ml) of the cranberry drink in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine is absorbed. Place the remaining juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the gelatine mixture and stir to combine. Set aside to cool for an hour. Arrange the berries over the base of a 4l trifle bowl then gently pour over the jelly mixture. Refrigerate overnight or until set. The jelly will be softly set.

Vanilla bean custard 

Combine milk, cream and the vanilla bean paste in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until hot (do not allow to boil). Remove saucepan from heat.

Whisk egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a microwave proof bowl until well combined. Pour the mixture through a sieve into the saucepan. Return mixture to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 15 to 20 minutes or until custard thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon (do not allow custard to boil, as it might curdle). You can also do this stage in the microwave. Cook on medium power for 3-4 minutes, whisking every minute until the custard is thick and silky smooth. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming before refrigerating. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools.

 

To assemble 

If you like, trim the brown edges off the cake, and cut to fit the trifle bowl. Spread a thin layer of jam over the base of the sponge then gently place the sponge round over the berry jelly layer before drizzling the top of the sponge with the Marsala. Carefully spoon the custard over the sponge then refrigerate the trifle for a few hours to allow the flavours to develop.

Just before serving, whip the cream, mascarpone and sugar until soft peaks forms. Top the trifle with a layer of sliced strawberries then cover the strawberry layer with the whipped cream. Just before serving, decorate with the fresh berries and mint leaves or chopped pistachios.

 

 

Something you can make ahead of time and feed a crowd. What's not to love? The trifle bowl is by Maxwell and Williams for work I did for Everten.

 

That's the last post for me for 2021. I'll be back next year with more baking and hopefully some travel as well.

Stay safe and well.

 

Bye for now,

Jillian

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xmas month 2021- lemon and passionfruit curd burnt basque cheesecake

xmas month 2021- lemon and passionfruit curd burnt basque cheesecake

17 Dec 2021

Cheesecake is a bit of a classic at Christmas time so I decided to make a lemon and passionfruit curd burnt basque cheesecake. It doesn't have a base and it’s cooked in a very hot oven which caramelizes the top of the cheesecake, giving the cheesecake its characteristic burnt flavour.

As there isn’t a base to protect the cheesecake, you line the tin with 2 overlapping layers of baking paper. Lemon passionfruit curd is swirled through the cheesecake before baking and also through the whipped cream topping. 

 

You can buy the lemon curd and stir through some passionfruit pulp or you can make your own curd. I’ve included a really easy microwave curd recipe for you, which is best made the day before you make the cheesecake to allow it time to cool and set. The cheesecake also requires a long cooling time, so it’s also best made the day before serving. The cheesecake is at it's best served at room temperature so decorate it just before serving and as it's very rich, small slices.

 

Here’s the recipe for you which makes an 8 inch cake, which I adapted from here. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. 

 

Lemon and Passionfruit Curd Basque Cheesecake

Lemon and passionfruit curd  

1 egg

⅓ cup (70g) caster sugar

80mls (⅓ cup) fresh lemon juice

2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Pinch salt

45g unsalted butter, chopped at room temperature

The pulp of 1 passionfruit

Cheesecake

750g cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup (220g) caster sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (375ml) thickened cream

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup (35g) plain flour

⅔ cup lemon curd

300 mls softly whipped cream, to serve

Microwave passionfruit curd 

Whisk the egg, sugar, juice, lemon rind and salt in a microwave-safe glass bowl until combined. Cook on low in the microwave for 3-4 minutes stirring every minute, or until a smooth, thick curd forms.

Sieve the curd to remove any eggy bits and lemon rind. Set aside to cool a little before stirring in the unsalted butter. Allow the curd to cool completely before storing in the fridge in an airtight container. When cold, stir through the passionfruit pulp

Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 220°C, conventional. Grease an 8 inch springform pan. Place a 30cm x 40cm sheet of baking paper on a clean work surface. Top with another sheet of baking paper, turning 90 degrees to create a cross. Line the prepared pan with paper cross, pleating and folding the sides to fit.

Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is very smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and silky.

With the motor running, gradually add the thickened cream in a thin, steady stream. Continue beating until smooth. Add the lemon rind, vanilla and salt and beat to combine. Sift flour over the cream cheese mixture. Beat on low until smooth. Spoon over 2 tbs of the curd and use a large metal spoon to gently marble it through the mixture.

Pour half the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan then spoon over another 2 tbs of curd. Pour over the remaining cream cheese mixture and use a round-bladed knife to gently marble. Place the cheesecake on an oven tray and bake for 55 minutes in the centre of the oven at 220°C or until the cheesecake is dark brown and puffed but still has a jiggle in the middle. Set aside to cool completely then place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours.

 

For a softer texture bring the cheesecake to room temperature before serving. Place the whipped cream in a bowl with a little of the remaining curd and gently marble. Top the cheesecake with the cream mixture then drizzle the cheesecake with the remaining curd. Cut into slices to serve.

If passionfruit isn't in season where you live, just leave it out and make the lemon curd version. It will be equally delicious. The beautiful white serving plates you see featured are by Noritake for work I did for Everten.

 

See you all again next week for the final recipe of Xmas month 2021.

 

Bye for now,

 

Jillian

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xmas month 2021 - chocolate raspberry pavlova

xmas month 2021 - chocolate raspberry pavlova

13 Dec 2021

Welcome to week 3 of Xmas month 2021. In Australia Pavlova is a traditional Christmas dessert and this year I decided to make a chocolate pavlova. Pavlova is made from just a few ingredients - egg whites, sugar, cornflour and a little bit of vinegar to create the characteristic marshmallow like interior.

 

The 70% dark chocolate swirled through the pavlova adds extra sugar to an already sweet dessert, so it's really important to counterbalance all that sweetness with something tart. I think fresh raspberries are the perfect match atop lashings of softly whipped unsweetened cream. If fresh raspberries aren't available where you live, I've given you a recipe for a berry compote which can be made from frozen berries.

As the chocolate pavlova mixture is inclined to spread more than regular meringue, I’ve suggested making a 7 inch pavlova which when baked should make an 8 inch pavlova.

 

Here’s the recipe for you which makes an 8 inch pavlova. The pavlova recipe was adapted from a recipe from Falafel For Breakfast: Modern Middle Eastern Recipes for the Shared Table from Kepos Street Kitchen by Kristy Frawley and Michael Rantissi. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. 

 

 

Chocolate raspberry pavlova – makes an 8 inch pavlova 

120 g (4 oz) 70% dark chocolate

4 egg whites (120g), at room temperature

Pinch salt

220 g (1 cup) caster sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon cornflour

Berry compote (Optional)

200g berries, fresh or frozen

45g (3 tbs) caster sugar

The juice of half a lemon

1-2 tbs water

Topping 

300 mls thickened cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 punnet raspberries

Method 

Preheat the oven to 170°C, conventional. Mark a 7 inch circle onto a sheet of baking paper then turn the paper upside down. Use the paper to line a baking tray. I used the Bakemaster insulated baking sheet from Everten. I like to secure the paper with clips but you can also use a small dollop of the meringue mixture to fix the paper to the baking tray. 

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the water doesn't touch the base of the bowl. Stir until melted then set aside to cool to room temperature. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a microwave.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar a tablespoon at a time and whisk until it forms a thick and glossy meringue and the sugar crystals have all dissolved.  Fold in the vinegar and cornflour and then gently swirl in the melted chocolate.

Spoon the meringue onto the baking tray, using the circle as a guide. Try to build up the walls of the pavlova so that it’s at least 2 inches high as the meringue spreads whilst cooking. Reduce the oven temperature to its lowest setting, place the tray onto the centre rack and bake for 1¼ - 1½ hours or until the pavlova is firm and the base is dry. I like to leave the pavlova in the turned off oven to cool before removing it from the oven and placing it on a wire rack. Once cold it can be stored in an airtight container until it is time to decorate.

Berry compote (optional)

To make the compote, combine all the ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Gently simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes. The mixture will have thickened a little and the berries should still hold their shape. Place into a covered bowl and refrigerate until needed. 

 

To decorate 

In a small bowl whip the cream with the vanilla bean paste until soft peaks form. Carefully remove the baking paper from the pavlova, then place onto a serving plate and decorate the pavlova with the whipped cream and berries. If you like, just before serving you can dollop on some of the berry compote.

 

 

Another delicious Christmas dessert which best of all can be made ahead of time then just decorated on the day. 

I'll be back again later this week with another classic dessert for Christmas week.

Until then,

 

Bye for now,

Jillian

 

 

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xmas month 2021 - sour cherry, oat and white chocolate biscuits

xmas month 2021 - sour cherry, oat and white chocolate biscuits

6 Dec 2021

Welcome to the 2nd week of Xmas month 2021. Each year at Christmas I make cookies to give to my neighbours. This year I made a batch of sour cherry, oat and white chocolate biscuits adapted from a recipe from Sweet by Ottolenghi and Helen Goh.

 

If you follow the recipe to the letter you will be rewarded with close to 30 delicious biscuits. The original recipe used cranberries but I prefer sour cherries and as I had a packet hiding away in my pantry that's what I used.

 

 

I've made these twice now and they're really tasty. The quantity of white chocolate in the recipe is just enough to coat all the biscuits so it's probably wise to  melt a little more just in case you get a little too generous with the coating.

 

 

Here's the recipe for you which makes about 30 biscuits (if using a 7cm cutter). For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. 

 

Sour cherry, oat and white chocolate biscuits

Ingredients 

150g whole almonds, skin on

150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

75g wholemeal flour

150g rolled oats

¼ tsp salt

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature, roughly cut into 3-4cm pieces

100g caster sugar

1 tbsp finely grated zest of 1 large orange

125g dried sour cherries, chopped in half, soaked in 25ml orange juice

250g white chocolate

Method  

Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Spread the almonds out on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and, once cool enough to handle, roughly chop into 0.5–1cm pieces. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl and add the flours, oats and salt. Mix together and set aside.

Increase the oven temperature to 190°C, conventional. Line two or three baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on a medium speed for about 2 minutes, until combined and light. Add the almond and flour mix to the butter and sugar and continue to mix on a low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the cherries and a little of the orange juice and mix for another few seconds to combine, then tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead into a ball, sprinkling over more flour if needed to prevent it getting too sticky.

Cut the dough in half and roll out one half so that it’s just over 0.5cm thick. Use a 7cm cookie cutter to cut the dough into rounds. Transfer these to a lined tray while you continue with the remaining dough. Bake for 18 minutes, until lightly coloured all over. Remove from the oven and set aside until completely cool.

Meanwhile, place the white chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.

 

To coat the cookies, use the back of a dessertspoon to spread a tablespoon of melted chocolate over each. Set aside on a cooling rack for the chocolate to set, which can take up to an hour, before serving.

 

The biscuits will keep for up to a week in an airtight container, if they last that long!

 

See you all again next week with another Christmas treat.

 

Bye for now,

 

Jillian

 

 

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xmas month 2021 - gingerbread christmas tree

xmas month 2021 - gingerbread christmas tree

29 Nov 2021

 

Welcome to Xmas month 2021. Normally I do Xmas week because I work full time and only bake during the weekends so I need all the time I can get to complete 5 bakes in time for Christmas. This year I'm on leave and have had plenty of time to bake so I'll be spreading the posts out over a few weeks.

I often make gingerbread at Christmas but I've never attempted a gingerbread house or tree before. This year I threw caution to the wind, picked up my star shaped cutters, whipped up some gingerbread, made a batch of royal icing and made a gingerbread Christmas tree.

Making a Gingerbread Christmas Tree is a labour of love. None of the steps involved are difficult but they all take time, so in total it was a three day process. Day 1, I made the gingerbread stars then let them cool. On Day 2 I decorated the stars then Day 3 I assembled the tree.

 

I think this would be a great family activity. Once you’ve made the gingerbread you can be as creative as you like with the decorations. I went classic with white royal icing but you could use sprinkles, candy canes, Smarties or coloured fondant.

 

Here’s the recipe for you which makes one large tree. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.

Gingerbread Christmas Tree, adapted from this recipe 

Ingredients 

50g butter

100g (½ cup) firmly packed brown sugar

125mls (½ cup) golden syrup

1 egg, lightly whisked

300g (2 cups) plain flour

75g (½ cup) self raising flour

1 tbs cocoa powder

3 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground white pepper

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Royal icing 

1 egg white

2 cups sifted icing sugar

½ tsp lemon juice

To decorate 

Decorations of your choice – sprinkles, candy canes, Smarties, icing sugar

Method 

Place the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

Combine the butter mixture and egg in a large bowl. Sift the combined flours, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and bicarbonate of soda over the butter mixture. Stir until well combined.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth. Shape into a disc, divide into 2 portions then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour to rest.

Preheat oven to 180ºC conventional. Line 4 large baking trays with baking paper or if you only have 2 trays, then cool the tray a little before reusing. Roll 1 portion of dough out on a lightly floured sheet of baking paper until 4mm thick. Use graduated star cutters to cut out four 3cm stars, six 5cm stars, six 7cm stars, six 9cm stars and six 11cm stars from the dough, re-rolling the dough as necessary. I used the handy Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin to do this step.

Place the stars 2 cm apart, graded by size, onto the prepared trays. Use the tip of a plain piping nozzle to cut out a hole in the centre of 2 of the smallest stars. I normally place the unbaked gingerbread in the fridge whilst one of the trays of gingerbread is baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden and crisp. The smaller stars will need the least amount of time, the larger stars the longest. Set aside on the trays to cool completely.

To decorate 

Place the egg white in a bowl and whisk a little to break up the egg white. Add the icing sugar a few tbs at a time, whisking continuously until all incorporated. Add lemon juice and continue whisking until the icing is thick enough to hold stiff peaks and is smooth and shiny. The lemon juice will extend the setting time of the icing.

If the icing is too thick and stiff to pipe, add a little hot water and whisk again to loosen up slightly. Place icing in a piping bag fitted with a 1-2mm plain nozzle and decorate the points of the stars with icing then decoratively pipe around the edges, flooding a few of the stars with the icing for contrast. Set aside for 3-4 hours or until set. Place the remaining icing in a sealed container and place in the fridge.

To assemble 

Place one the largest stars on a serving plate then add the stars one at a time gluing each layer with the reserved royal icing. Rotate the stars slightly as you go to form the branches of the tree. Continue stacking and gluing the remaining stars in decreasing size, finishing with two 3cm stars. You may not choose to use all the stars.

To top the tree, glue the last 2 small stars together and then glue upright. Pipe extra icing on the stars to create a snowy look and add any additional decorations at this time. Set aside to set and then dust with icing sugar just before serving.

 

 

The undecorated gingerbread will keep for 1 month in an airtight container. The decorated tree should last for 2 weeks depending on humidity.

 

It's a bit of a showstopper, isn't it?  

 

See you all next week with some more baking for Christmas.

 

Bye for now,

 

Jillian

 

 

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flour and stone old fashioned vanilla cake

flour and stone old fashioned vanilla cake

21 Nov 2021

Whilst browsing through YouTube, I found a video of Nadine Ingram from Flour and Stone presenting a masterclass for Carriageworks markets. I watched Nadine make her old fashioned vanilla cake sandwiched with mascarpone custard cream and fresh berries.

I have a copy of Nadine's book and in the book the cake was sandwiched together with mascarpone custard cream and berry compote. Coincidentally I'd made berry compote the previous day and with some just about to expire mascarpone in the fridge I decided then and there to make a smaller version of the cake the very next day.

 

I found the video really helpful. I was surprised to see how soft the butter was that Nadine used and also the length of time she spent creaming the butter and sugar.

 

I had to do a bit of maths first then followed Nadine's instructions only altering the oven temperature and bake time to suit my oven. As I'd used some egg white in the batter, my cake once baked was only lightly golden and each layer was perfectly level so I didn't need to trim the layers.

Here's the recipe for the Flour and Stone old fashioned vanilla cake which makes a 3 layer 16cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.

If you'd like to make a 23cm/9 inch cake double all the ingredients, using 5 or 6 whole eggs in the cake. You can watch Nadine making the cake here in which she shows you how to make the cake using two 9 inch cake tins.

Here are some of Nadine's recommendations.

'Make the pastry cream and berry compote at least 4 hours before the sponge. Ideally this cake should be baked on the day you wish to eat it; however, if you really must bake it the day before due to time restraints, you have to promise me you will not fill the cake until the day it is being eaten. 

When baking a day ahead you will get best results if you cool the cakes, remove them from the tins and wrap them snugly in plastic film. This will preserve the moisture and flavour of the cakes until the following day. Store at room temperature, not in the fridge or they'll dry out'. 

 

Flour and stone old fashioned vanilla cake

Pastry cream  

125 mls milk 

1 egg yolk

25g caster sugar

10g plain flour

 

Berry compote 

200g frozen berries 

55g caster sugar

Juice half an orange  

 

Cake

185 gm very soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 

185 gm caster sugar

1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 eggs and 1 white, lightly beaten

165 gm self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

25 gm cornflour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

50 ml milk

 

Mascarpone custard filling

100g mascarpone 

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

200 mls pure cream

 

To decorate

Icing sugar

 

Pastry cream 

Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale, then add the flour and whisk until well combined.

When the milk comes to the boil, reduce the heat to low. Remove 60 ml of the milk from the pan and pour it over the egg yolk mixture. This warms it a little in preparation for being added to the scalding milk. Give the yolk mixture a quick whisk, then pour it into the boiled milk (still over low heat), ensuring you scrape all the yolk from the bowl with a spatula. Stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula for 2 minutes or until the cream starts to thicken. As soon as it does, swap your spoon for a whisk and continue to cook the pastry cream for 1 minute longer to ensure the flour is completely cooked. Remove from the heat and spread out the cream on a flat tray. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate until cold.

Berry compote 

Place all the compote ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the berries don't catch on the base of the pan. The compote will thicken a little but the consistency you are looking for is not jam. You want to retain as many of the whole berries as possible so that when you cut the cake you will see the berries studded through the layers. Remove the compote from the heat and leave it to cool for a few hours. The compote can be made well in advance of when you want to assemble the cake and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

 

Cake  

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease three 16 cm-diameter cake tins, line with baking paper, then grease paper and dust with flour. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy. Add egg, a little at a time and scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until incorporated.

Meanwhile, combine flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt and sift twice. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, until just combined. Turn off mixer, scrape down sides of bowl and the paddle, then beat on high for 2 seconds to aerate batter. Divide batter between tins and smooth tops. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 140°C and bake until centre of cakes spring back when lightly pressed (5-10 minutes). Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tins.

Mascarpone custard filling

Place all the filling ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand whisk). Whisk for 1-2 minutes or until the creams are stiffly whipped, being careful not to over-whip them.

Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and loosen it first with a spatula then add it to the bowl of whipped cream and whisk on low speed for just 20 seconds - you don't want to whisk the pastry cream for too long after it has been added to the whipped cream as it will destroy the fluffiness of the filling. This filling can be prepared the day before you want to assemble the cake and stored in the fridge.

To assemble  

Trim off any dark crust from the top of 2 of the cakes. Lay out the cake layers in front of you so that you have two cut layers and one with the crusty top. Check that all your layers are the same thickness and make adjustments by trimming them if necessary.

 

Spread half the mascarpone custard filling over one of the cut layers and then spoon half the compote over the mascarpone. Place the other cut layer on top and spread with the remaining mascarpone and berry compote, as you did for the first layer. Place the crusty-top layer of cake on top and dust with icing sugar to finish. This cake needs no accompaniment - it is perfect just the way it is!

This was honestly the lightest, fluffiest butter cake I have ever made or eaten. This will be my go-to recipe from now on.

See you all again next week with the first of  the Christmas bakes for Xmas 2021.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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