My Raspberry Sponge Cake is a fantastic summer dessert, made with a very light fatless sponge. I am using raspberries as they are my favourite soft fruit but any other soft fruit could be used instead. Here in the UK you can usually find fresh fruit even after summer has come to an end so Raspberry Sponge Cake often remains on the tea rooms menu well into the autumn.
Raspberry Sponge Cake
Course: DessertDifficulty: Medium10
servings35
minutesA set of digital scales is very useful as the weight of the eggs determines the weight of flour and sugar used. I have given approximate weights in my “Notes” section below but I think the best results are obtained with more exact measurements.
Ingredients
- Sponge
6 large eggs
Half the weight of the eggs in caster sugar
Half the weight of the eggs in plain flour
3 tablespoons of hot water
- Filling
600 mls or 1 pint double cream
600 gms or 1 1/4 1bs fresh raspberries
Raspberry jam
Icing sugar
Vanilla extract
Directions
- Crack your eggs into a bowl and weigh them.
- Add half the weight of the eggs in caster sugar.
- Add 3 tablespoons of hot water.
- Now whisk (preferably using an electric mixer) until the mixture is thick and creamy. When you lift the whisk from the bowl the mixture falling from it should hold it’s shape.
- Now weigh out half the weight of the eggs in plain flour.
- Sieve the flour and fold it into the egg mixture in three lots using the same cutting and folding technique I use for my chocolate roulade recipe.
- Try and keep as much air in the mixture as possible. There is no chemical raising agent in this recipe and the lightness of the sponge will depend on the amount of air that you have incorporated into the whisked eggs.
- Grease and line the base of three 9 inch / 23 cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the three tins.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven 350 F / 180 C (160 C fan) / Gas Mark 4 for approximately 30-35 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
- Remove from the tins and cool on a wire rack. Do not remove the lining papers. Cool the cakes with the lining paper face down on the rack. It is a very delicate sponge and may stick to the cooling rack without the protection of the paper.
- The sponge can be frozen at this point and will keep for up to one month in the freezer.
- Once the sponges are cool, start to make the filling.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of icing sugar to the cream and whip until soft peaks form.
- Sieve a little icing sugar over a serving plate. This will help to prevent the bottom layer of sponge from sticking to the plate.
- Remove the lining paper from one sponge and place on the plate. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over the sponge.
- Spread about a quarter of the whipped cream over the jam.
- Arrange a circle of raspberries around the edge of the cake on top of the cream and then cover the rest of the cream with more raspberries.
- Spread another quarter of the cream over the raspberries gently pressing it down between them. The raspberries around the edge should still be visible.
- Remove the lining paper from the second sponge and gently lay it on top.
- Repeat steps 16 – 19 with this second layer.
- Remove the lining paper from the third sponge and gently lay it on top of the second layer of cream and raspberries.
- Sift a thick layer of icing sugar over the cake.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. It will keep covered in the fridge for up to three days but is not suitable for freezing.
Recipe Video
Notes
- I bake all three layers at once because I have a large oven. If you can’t fit three 9 inch / 23 cm tins in your oven make up your mixture in two batches – one using four eggs for two tins and then one using two eggs for the third tin and bake in two batches as this cake mixture needs to be baked as soon as it is mixed.
- You can make a smaller cake with just two layers using four eggs and half the filling ingredients.
- The contents of a large egg should weigh about 2 oz / 55 gms so you will need approximately 6oz / 165gms of both sugar and flour but exact amounts will vary according to the weight of your eggs.
Serving Suggestions for Raspberry Sponge Cake
I serve the sponge with extra raspberries and a chocolate sauce. I make my sauce by bringing 10 fluid oz / 300mls of double cream to boiling point and then pouring it over 3 1/2oz / 100 gm plain chocolate broken into small pieces. Allow to stand for five minutes, then whisk until smooth. Serve warm. This sauce is also very good with ice cream.
