Wild Berry Cream Cake — Savoria Recipes

Our most requested celebration cake is also one of the simplest: light vanilla sponge, barely-sweet mascarpone cream and a tumble of berries macerated just long enough to turn jammy at the edges. Elena developed it for a student's wedding and has taught it every summer since.

The secret is restraint — whip the cream to soft peaks so it slices cleanly, and salt the berries. A pinch of salt makes raspberries taste more like themselves.

Method

Heat the oven to 175°C. Butter and line two 20cm tins. Beat the butter and sugar until pale, add eggs one by one with the vanilla, then fold in flour and milk until just smooth.

Divide between tins and bake 22 to 25 minutes until springy. Cool 10 minutes in the tins, then fully on a rack — warm sponge melts the cream.

Toss the berries with 2 tbsp sugar and the salt; rest 20 minutes until glossy. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold in the mascarpone in two additions.

Layer sponge, cream and half the berries; repeat and crown with the remaining berries and their juices. Chill 30 minutes before slicing with a hot, dry knife.

Cold cake, warm knife, clean slices — thirty minutes of chill is non-negotiable.

In winter, swap fresh berries for thawed frozen ones simmered five minutes with the sugar. The cake keeps two days refrigerated.