Raspberry ripple cake
This is one of the most delicious and simple ‘cakes’: just cream and raspberries sandwiched between biscuits and left to sit in the fridge. Inspired by the chocolate ripple cakes that were so popular during my high-school days in the country, this version is considerably lighter and perfect for summer. Because it requires absolutely no cooking, it’s my go-to dessert when the weather is scorching hot.
I love serving this over the festive season when berries are juicy and sweet. You’ll need to assemble the cake a whole day before you want to eat it. 600ml pure cream
250g (1 cup) crème fraîche 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped, or 1 teaspoon vanilla-bean paste
40g (⅓ cup) icing sugar, sifted 250g (2 cups) raspberries, plus extra to serve finely grated zest of 1 lemon
250g Butternut Snap or other plain, sweet biscuits Red currants, to serve (optional)
1 Combine the cream, crème fraîche, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the icing sugar in a large bowl and whip to stiff peaks.
2 Place the raspberries in a bowl with the lemon zest and remaining 1 tablespoon of icing sugar and crush together with the back of a fork.
3 Line a 23cm loaf tin with plastic wrap, with plenty overhanging. Spread a thin layer of the whipped cream over the base, then top with a layer of biscuits. You can break some of them if you need to make them fit. Top with another layer of the cream, then half of the raspberry mixture. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients, finishing with the cream (reserving about ½ cup of the cream mixture for finishing the cake). Enclose the cake with the overhanging plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight.
Transfer to the fridge and leave the cake for a further 8—12 hours.
4 When ready to serve, release the cake from the tin by sitting it in some hot water for 30 seconds. Unwrap the overhanging plastic, pop your serving plate over the tin and invert the whole thing. Lift off the tin and remove the plastic wrap. Use the remaining cream to cover the sides and top of the cake, then decorate with extra raspberries and red currants (if using). Serve immediately.
EXTRACTS FROM by Julia Busuttil Nishimura. Published by Pan Macmillan, $39.99 for paperback, and sold online and through all good booksellers.
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