Ingredients
Sponge Cake
(Makes two 9-inch cake rounds)
- 4 ounces butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pans
- 1 ½ cups of flour (cake flour ideally), plus more for pans
- 9 largish eggs, room temperature, separated
- 1 ½ cups sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- Pinch of salt
Lavender & Rosemary Syrup
- 1 tablespoon lavender buds ( this is a subtle amount, you can use more if you really like lavender!)
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 ½ cup of sugar
- 1 cup of water
Mascarpone Icing
- 1 ½ cup mascarpone chilled
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 cup double cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon nettle seeds (just use additional poppy seeds if you don’t have any)
- ½ tablespoon poppy seeds
- (and a few extra seeds for sprinkling over finished cake)
Directions
Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper.
- Whisk together egg yolks and one cup of the sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next beat this egg mixture with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla, orange zest and salt.
- In a new bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff, about 2 minutes. Fold one-third of egg whites into yolks, then gently fold in remaining whites. Sift flour over top and gently start to fold in. When all is folded in, slowly pour in melted butter and fold just enough so that is blended and smooth. Don’t overwork or you’ll let out all your air from egg whites!
- Divide batter among pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in centres comes out clean, about 25 minutes After baking immediately invert cake and remove parchment, then cool right side up.
- Cut in each cake in half through the centre so that you end up having 4 layers of cake. You can measure from the bottom of the cake half way up and slice in with knife at several points around the cake, this should keep you straight. You may have to take off the cake tops if they are too high, but it can get tricky, so try just to shave off any obvious bumps.
Lavender & Rosemary Syrup
- Place all your ingredients in a pot. Bring the mixture to a soft boil (not rolling) for 5 minutes. Then turn down to simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for at least 10 minutes before straining plant material out.
Mascarpone Icing
- Whip chilled mascarpone with icing sugar and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Then add your seeds, double/whipping cream and whip for 2 more minutes until stiff.
Cake Assembly
- To assemble the cake brush each layer generously with a coating of syrup and then just enough mascarpone cream to cover the cake layer. Don’t go crazy – you’ll need enough to ice the top and sides as well!
- Once the cake is assembled, spread icing over the top of the cake. Cover the sides, with the remaining mascarpone cream, then using the edge of a spatula scrape the mascarpone cream off the sides off the cake to reveal the sponge, thus creating the “naked cake” effect.
- Decorate the top with rosemary & lavender sprigs, sprinkle a few additional seeds and a few lavender buds.
