Monday 30 April 2012

Raspberry Layer Cake with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream



It was one of my best friend Maddy’s 22nd Birthday on Saturday, and I knew I just had to make her a cake to celebrate. I opted for a Raspberry Layer Cake with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I had made Swiss Meringue buttercream before, for Ben’s Rainbow Cake, and knew I had to try it again; it's honestly like eating a cloud. 
























I weighed out the cake batter, splitting it three ways to make a slightly taller cake, and then sandwiched each layer with a little raspberry jam, the buttercream and a sprinkle of fresh raspberries. On top I plonked a good layer of buttercream, and then covered it entirely with fresh raspberries - mostly because it looked pretty, but also because my buttercream didn’t go exactly to plan. Last time I made swiss meringue buttercream with Rose it went perfectly, but this time it just didn’t really do its thing. First, it went a little soupy, so I popped it in the fridge, but then it went a little lumpy, so I whacked the KitchenAid up to high speed and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, it just didn’t come together, so I gave up, added a little seedless raspberry jam, and went with it. It tasted perfect, and that’s the most important thing, and once I’d added the fresh raspberries it looked pretty good. And so the Rustic Raspberry Layer Cake with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream was born. 

So much cake.
Fast forward to the party, and Maddy got to blow out the candles on not one but two Birthday cakes, her lovely boyfriend Tony bought a deliciously decadent brownie cheesecake from the Hummingbird Bakery. It was a fabulous night, filled with far too much cake and wine, so Thank You Maddy, and Happy Birthday once again!!


Adapted from Good Food
-For the Cake-
4 eggs
225g caster sugar
225g self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
225g butter, at room temperature
Loads of fresh raspberries
1 tbsp raspberry jam 
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line the bottom of 3 20cm cake tine (if you only have two like me, you might have to do this in stages).
  2. Mix all the ingredients together until combined, but not over-mixed. It should drop off the spoon easily. 
  3. Divide the mixture between the tins. I did this by weighing the mixing bowl empty and then with the mixture. I minus-ed the bowl weight from the other weight and then divided by three. 
  4. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until the cakes are golden brown and coming away from the edge of the tin. Press gently to check they spring back.
  5. Leave in the tins for 5 minutes, then ease the cakes out with a palette knife. Cool on a wire rack, and make the buttercream (see below).
  6. Place one of the cooled cake on to a plate, spread over some jam, then buttercream, and sprinkle over some fresh raspberries. Repeat this process once more, and then on the top layer, just smooth over the buttercream, and cover with more fresh raspberries. 
Adapted from Whisk Kid 
-For the Buttercream-
300g caster sugar
7 egg whites
381g unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small cubes
1 tbsp seedless raspberry jam
  1. In a small saucepan, heat the egg whites and sugar, whisking constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved. To check this, rub some of the mixture between your fingers, it should be completely smooth.
  2. Pour into a bowl, a stand mixer works best, and whip on high speed. Then, on a low speed, add the butter, waiting until each piece is combined with the mixture before adding the next one. 
  3. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add the jam and beat to combine. 
If you have issues with your buttercream like I did on this occasion, check out Whisk Kids excellent guide to Swiss Meringue Buttercream HERE


11 comments:

  1. Wow!This looks really professional and so yummy! Well done you!

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  2. Oooooo this looks fabulous! Raspberries are my number all time favourite fruit...so this would be my ideal cake...and re the buttercream...as long as it tastes good, that's all that matters! :-)

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  3. Like Laura says, as long as it tastes good it doesn't matter if the icing is slightly lumpy. The raspberries and all the layers look so inviting too. I've not tried swiss meringue buttercream yet, but I think the Caked Crusader has a good guide on her blog to making it.

    The brownie cheesecake looks delicious too.

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  4. This looks awesome! I haven't tried making swiss meringue buttercream yet - I'm slightly afraid!

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  5. This looks fantastic! I'm inspired to try the meringue butter cream, I want to tell people that it's like 'eating a cloud!' Beautiful.

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  6. This cake looks incredible! I love the pretty raspberry decoration on top.

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  7. Hi Alex, your cake looks fabulous. I have never tried swiss meringue buttercream, sounds like it could be tricky! I'm sure your friend was delighted with her pretty cake!

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  8. SMBC is such a stress, I never give up beating and normally it comes together eventually! Such a lovely looking cake, would love a slice!

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  9. This looks fab Alex! I've never had anything like this, so I'd love to try making something like this in the future. Such a summery cake too. Well done. Xx

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  10. I've nominated you for some awards - check it out :-)

    http://misscakeaholic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/awards.html

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  11. Awwww it looks so pretty with the raspberries on top! I'm sure it tasted absolutely amazing and I hope your friend had a lovely birthday! :)

    Libby xo

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