Angel bundt cake with white chocolate drizzle
Cooling the cake in its tin, inverted on a bottle, helps it to retain a good height and light, airy texture.
SERVES 10-12 PREP 35min, plus cooling COOK about 1hr
• 125g plain flour, plus 1tbsp to dust
• 300g caster sugar
• 10 large egg whites
• 1tbsp lemon juice
• 1tsp cream of tartar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp hazelnut or almond essence/extract
• 250g mascarpone
• 225g white chocolate, broken into chunks
• 150g raspberries
• 150g blueberries
1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Find a wine bottle (or similar) that fits through the central hole of a 25.5cm bundt cake tin (inverted tin will balance on this after cake is cooked). Set aside. Sift flour and 100g sugar into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2 In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric whisk until frothy. Add the lemon juice, cream of tartar and 1/2tsp salt; beat again until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 200g sugar, 1tbsp at a time, whisking to stiff peaks after each addition. When the mixture is stiff and glossy and no sugar can be felt when mixture is rubbed between finger and thumb, whisk in vanilla and nut essence/extract.
3 Sprinkle over ⅓ of the flour and sugar mixture. Gently fold through with a large metal spoon. Repeat with remaining flour mix until you have a thick, lump-free batter, being careful not to knock out too much air.
4 Spoon mixture into ungreased tin, smoothing top gently to level. Bake in lower third of oven for 40-50min until springy and a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out clean.
5 Remove cake from oven. Invert bundt tin immediately, placing central hole over wine bottle, and balance carefully. Cool cake in this way for 1hr, then remove from bottle, run a knife around tin edges and turn cake out on to a plate.
6 In a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt mascarpone until runny, then remove from heat. Add white chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth. Leave to cool until thick but still runny. Drizzle over cake, pile berries on top and serve.
GET AHEAD The cake is best enjoyed fresh, but the sponge can be made a day ahead, stored in an airtight container and decorated just before you are ready to serve it.