Vanilla sponge cake with berry jam and white chocolate cream

The secret to a light sponge cake is to trap as much air in the batter as possible. Sift the dry ingredients twice!

Makes 1 decadent 23cm double-layer cake Preparation: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Oven temperature: 180°C

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature • 250ml castor sugar

• 250ml cake flour

• 5ml baking powder

• 30ml melted butter

• 15ml boiled water, slightly cooled

• 5ml vanilla extract

FILLING

• 160g white chocolate

• 1 tub (230g) medium-fat cream cheese • 250ml cream

• 5ml vanilla extract

• 250ml thick berry jam (or your favourite) • 200g red berries and roses, to garnish • icing sugar, to garnish

1 Preheat the oven. Line two 23cm cake tins with baking paper and spray well with non-stick cooking spray. Beat the eggs and sugar together on high speed until very light and thick – at least 10 minutes with an electric mixer.

2 Sift the flour and baking powder twice. Also mix the butter, water and vanilla. Mix the wet and the sifted dry ingredients into the beaten egg mixture using a folding action: use a thin metal spoon or flexible spatula and fold the ingredients together until just combined. The flour should be just mixed in and not overworked, otherwise the cake will be too dense.

3 Divide the batter between the prepared tins, carefully level the top without bumping the tins too much, and bake on the middle rack for 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Wait 30 minutes before opening the oven door (you should start to smell the fragrant cake), otherwise the cake might fall flat.

4 Let the cake stand for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack; allow to cool completely.

5 Make the filling Melt the chocolate. Beat the cream cheese, cream and vanilla together until they start to thicken, then beat in the melted chocolate until just combined. Refrigerate the chocolate cream until cold and firm.

6 Assemble the cake Place the first layer on a pretty plate and spread the jam over it. Pipe or smear half of the chocolate cream on top.

Carefully place the second cake layer on top and smear or pipe on the rest of the cream. Garnish with the berries and flowers and a light sprinkling of icing sugar.

Tip A sponge cake is best served fresh, but a fresh cake is difficult to slice and you don’t want all the delicious cream to ooze out when you start cutting! To make serving easier, cut the top layer into slices before placing it on top of the first layer and garnishing. When you’re ready to serve, simply cut along your guide lines.