Nectarines are my absolute favourite fruit. You can use peaches here too, either way, the fruit adds a beautiful taste of summer to this simple sponge cake. The sponge is a straightforward one but it is then spiked with lemon and brushed with elderflower syrup to enhance those fruity flavours. I am sandwiching it together with a sweet cream perfumed with rosewater, a simple and understated filling to bring all the flavours together.
The raspberry Eton mess cheesecake recipe is a combination of two of my favourite desserts. The base, a beautiful velvety baked vanilla cheesecake studded with raspberries, is piled high with a mound of softly whipped cream, crisp and chewy meringues, and drizzled with a sharp raspberry sauce.
This blueberry lavender stripe cake is an absolute showstopper, deceivingly simple on the outside, but once you cut into it, its beautiful purple stripes are revealed. The cake is like one long and thin Swiss roll, turned on its side, then covered in buttercream to hide the surprise. Blueberry and lavender are a beautiful combination – floral, sweet and subtle.
The recipe calls for 18 eggs; this isn’t a typo. Three trays of Swiss roll sponge are needed to make it. It is not huge in diameter, but it is tall. While this cake might not be one to make every day, it is a recipe to pull out of the bag when you want to impress.
Nectarine, rose and elderflower cake
Serves 10
Ingredients
For the sponge:
340g unsalted butter, softened
340g caster sugar
6 eggs
Pinch of salt
340g self-raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
Zest of 1 lemon
For the elderflower syrup:
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
4 tbsp water
Juice of ½ lemon
For the nectarine compote:
5 nectarines, roughly chopped
50g caster sugar
Juice ½ lemon
2 tbsp water
For the rose cream:
500ml cream
30g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp rosewater
150g natural yoghurt
For the topping:
1 nectarine, sliced
3 elderflower heads (optional)
Handful of rose petals (optional)
Method
For the sponge:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees or 160 if using a fan oven. Grease and line three 20cm sandwich tins with a disc of parchment paper. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one by one, beating well to ensure each egg is fully incorporated. Add the sifted flour and salt, folding in gently to combine. Finally fold in the elderflower cordial and lemon zest.
3. Divide the sponge mix between the three tins and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until well risen and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tins before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the elderflower syrup.
For the elderflower syrup:
1. Mix all of the ingredients together and while the sponges are still slightly warm, brush the syrup over each sponge and leave to soak in.
For the nectarine compote:
1. Place all of the ingredients together in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until the nectarines have softened completely and the juices have reduced to a syrup. Set aside to cool.
For the rose cream:
1.Whisk the cream, sugar, vanilla, and rosewater together to soft peak and fold in the yoghurt. Chill until ready to assemble.
To assemble:
1. Place one of the cooled sponges on a serving plate and spread with half of the nectarine compote. Spoon a third of the cream on top and repeat with the second sponge. Spoon the remaining cream on the top of the sponge, pile the nectarine slices in the centre of the cake, and garnish with elderflower and rose petals.
Raspberry Eton mess cheesecake
Serves 10
Ingredients
For the base:
200g digestive biscuits
100g butter, melted
2tbsp brown sugar
For the cheesecake filling:
500g cream cheese
180g caster sugar
3 eggs
2tsp vanilla extract
30g cornflour
300ml crème fraiche
125g raspberries
For the meringues:
2 egg whites
120g caster sugar
½tsp lemon juice
1tsp cornflour
For the raspberry drizzle:
225g raspberries
To assemble:
100g raspberries
200ml cream
2tbsp icing sugar
Method
For the base:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees or 150C if using a fan oven. Grease and line a 20cm springform tin with parchment paper. Place a deep tray large enough to hold the tin in the oven and fill half way with boiling water.
2. Blitz the biscuits to a fine crumb in a food processor. Alternatively place the biscuits in a Ziploc bag and crush using a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and sugar and mix well. Press the biscuit crumb into the base of the prepared tin and place in the freezer for 10 minutes while preparing the filling.
For the cheesecake filling:
1. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one by one, beating each one until well combined. Add the vanilla, followed by the cornflour and crème fraiche and mix well.
2. Remove the tin from the freezer and dot the raspberries around the base. Pour the filling on top, and carefully place the tin in the tray filled with water in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes, until there is a slight wobble in the centre of the cheesecake but the outside is set. Cool completely in the tin, for at least three hours or overnight. The cheesecake can also be frozen at this stage.
For the meringues:
1. Preheat the oven to 140 degrees or 120 if using a fan oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the egg whites until foaming, then add the sugar gradually, a tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak. Add the lemon juice and the cornflour and fold in gently. Using a piping bag or spoon, dollop small mounds of meringue onto the prepared tray.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, before reducing the heat to 110 degrees or 90 fan and continue to bake for an hour. Leave the meringues to cool completely. The cool meringues can be stored in an airtight container until ready to assemble.
For the raspberry drizzle:
1. Mash the raspberries in a bowl with a fork. Set aside.
To assemble:
1. Remove the cheesecake from the tin and place on a serving plate.
2. Whisk the cream and the icing sugar to soft peaks. Spoon some of the cream on top of the cheesecake, dot some of the meringues on top of the cream, and drizzle on some raspberry sauce. Place a few raspberries on top and repeat until you have used up all of the cream, meringues, drizzle and fresh raspberries.
Blueberry lavender stripe cake
Serves 8
Ingredients
For the sponge:
18 eggs, separated
450g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp dried lavender, finely chopped
150g plain flour, sifted
45g icing sugar
For the blueberry compote:
300g blueberries
Juice ½ lemon
20g caster sugar
For the buttercream:
300g unsalted butter
550g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
¼tsp salt
Lavender sprigs, to garnish (optional)
Method
For the sponge:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees or 160 if using a fan oven. Line three baking trays 40 x 30cm with parchment paper. If you don't have three trays, you will need to cook the sponge in batches.
2. Using a stand mixer, electric beater or by hand, whisk the egg yolks and 400g of the caster sugar until pale and voluminous, the egg should hold its shape on the whisk. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk the egg whites and the remaining sugar to soft peaks. If using a stand mixer, scrape the egg yolk into another large bowl, clean the bowl of the stand mixer, and whisk the whites with the sugar.
4. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mix in thirds, taking care to avoid knocking the air out. Add the vanilla and lavender.
5. Fold the flour into the mix again in thirds. Once all of the flour has been incorporated, divide the mix between the three trays and bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until set to touch. If you have only one tray, spread a third of the mix onto a baking tray and bake, repeating twice with the remaining mix.
6. While the sponges are cooking, dust the icing sugar over three large sheets of parchment paper, cut a little larger than the baking tray. Once the sponges are cooked, remove them from the oven one by one, and, while still warm, turn out onto the icing sugar-dusted parchment. Remove the parchment from the base of the sponge, and carefully start to roll the sponge up from the short side until you have a roll. Repeat with the remaining sponges and set aside to cool completely.
For the blueberry compote:
1. Put all of the ingredients into a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water and cook over a gentle heat for five to 10 minutes until the blueberries have burst and the syrup has reduced slightly.
2. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Put 150g of the compote into a food processor and blend to a puree. Set aside for the buttercream. The remaining compote can be used to decorate the top of the cake.
For the buttercream:
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until pale and soft. Add half the icing sugar, beating well to combine. Add the remaining icing sugar, followed by the vanilla and salt.
2. Slowly add the 150g blueberry puree and mix well to combine. If the buttercream looks a little soft, place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up slightly.
To assemble:
1. Unroll the cooled sponges and cut each sponge into three long strips lengthways. Each strip should be about 10cm.
2. Spread a little buttercream over each of the strips and begin to roll up, starting from the short side. Join one edge with the next strip, continuing to roll until you have a very long swiss roll. Turn the sponge onto a serving plate so the cut side is facing up.
3. Spread the remaining buttercream over the cake. Spoon over the reserved blueberry compote and garnish with lavender sprigs to serve.
