I have to admit… I love cake. Any kind of cake, really, is a friend of mine. Chocolate, vanilla, carrot, yellow, white, ginger… Damp cake, fluffy cake, spicy cake or pound cake. I am an equal opportunity (cake) lover … and I really enjoy tasting and baking new cakes.
Recently, my dear friend Tins, asked me to bake a cake for her daughter’s 3rd birthday. There were a few pre-requisites. It had to be pink (obviously), have a princess doll theme, and have no nuts. AngelKitten and I decided on that old standard from our childhoods (though they might be decades apart) – a doll cake – the skirt a cake, and a doll sticking straight out of it! We also decided to bake a larger round cake as the base, and fondant the whole thing (in pink) with pretty roses and and decorations.
Hopefully, we will get this right, but I decided to see if I could create a cake that had elements of pink in it too! I decided to see if I could make a raspberry vanilla cake – light yet firm, buttery, scented with vanilla, with a swirl of pink cake in the centre – a beautiful looking cake that tastes good too.
This cake is very pretty – and its perfect for decorating or fondanting because it also has a certain heft and structure. Do bake it the day before decorating to let it set up a bit. It will keep, fondanted, for at least 3 – 5 days. The great thing about this cake, though, is that it is perfect as a tea cake, unadorned, or as a layered celebration cake. Its just lovely, and has now joined my list of favourite cakes to make!
This recipe will yield 2 9 inch layers
- 3 cups flour (I used 1/2 all purpose 1/2 cake)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (8 oz) butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp (or more) vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup raspberry puree (approximately – depends on quality of puree)
Preheat your oven to 165C (325F) and line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside
In a small bowl, soft together the flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In an electric stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla. You should have a creamy batter, but dont worry if it looks a bit curdled – it does that sometimes!
Fold in (dont beat in) the flour mixture, alternating with the milk.
Divide the batter into half (though if you like more pink, you could go up to 2/3rds vs 1/3). Divide half the batter between the two prepared cake tins, smoothing up the sides.
Fold the raspberry puree into the second half of batter. You want quite a pink cake, so make sure that the puree gets integrated fully. Add more if you think it is needed. Pour the raspberry batter evenly between the two cake pans, and smooth the tops of the cakes.
Bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with scant crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, before turning out and cooling to room temperature.
You can ice, frost, glaze, fondant or even serve this lush cake naked! Its delicious and beautiful.
Enjoy!
delectable 