This cake was a very popular one off The Caker menu circa 2012 and I’m thrilled to revive it here for you, with a few tweaks and a very celebratory twist to honor Sunday Magazines 20th anniversary issue! This cake is 4 layers, iced all the way around and is then dusted with a glorious blanket of Fresh As freeze-dried raspberry powder. Of course you could halve the recipe to make a 2 layer cake and keep the icing just between the layers, but I do recommend you try the freeze-dried fruit powder dusting because it is totally magical both in appearance and taste. The key to getting this cake perfect is being extremely careful not to overmix the batter and to keep a close eye on it as it bakes so as to not overbake it by even a few minutes.
Serves 12
x Jordan
For the cake:
200g dried figs, stems cut off and quartered
300 butter, at room temperature
400g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp imitation vanilla
2 tbsp vanilla paste
8 free range eggs, room temperature
100ml light olive oil
400g plain all-purpose white flour
140g ground almonds
1 tsp fine salt
5 tsp baking powder
360g plain, unsweetened yogurt at room temperature
250g fresh or frozen raspberries
For the icing:
300g butter, at room temperature
400g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp imitation vanilla
2 tsp vanilla paste
200g cream cheese (not light, or spreadable), at room temperature
For the decorations:
4 tbsp Fresh As freeze-dried raspberry powder
A selection of fresh flowers
First, soak the dried fig quarters in a bowl of warm water and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius on fan bake. Line 4 x 22cm cake tins with baking paper.
To make the cake, in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and 3 types of vanilla until pale, light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one by one, mixing well before adding in the next. Next beat in the oil.
In a bowl combine the flour, ground almonds, salt and baking powder.
By hand, using a silicone spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredients. Once mostly combined, fold in the remaining dry ingredients. Finally fold through the yogurt, being extremely careful not to overmix.
Evenly divide the batter between the 4 tins and spread out to the sides.
Drain the figs from the water and place on a paper towel to absorb any excess water.
Evenly dot the raspberries and the soaked fig quarters into the batter across the 4 tins and press down lightly.
Bake for approximately 35 minutes. The cakes are ready when golden in colour, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool for around 10 minutes in the pans before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Meanwhile make the icing. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, vanillas and icing sugar until very pale, light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese little by little and continue beating until the icing is completely smooth.
When the cakes are fully cooled, spread some icing onto one layer using an offset palette knife. Place the other layer on top of this and neatly ice the top. Repeat this until the 4 cake layers are stacked and iced. If you want to ice the cake all the way around the sides, apply a crumb coat and refrigerate for at least an hour. Once chilled, apply a final layer of icing and smooth it out as neatly as you can.
Using a fine mesh sieve, dust over the freeze-dried raspberry powder. Try to get an even layer of it on the top of the cake, as well as on the sides of the cake (this part is a bit tricky as you have to tilt the cake on an angle).
Finally, decorate with fresh flowers if using.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.