Beyond Our Sky

Lime and Raspberry Cake

Another blogpost featuring citrus and berries, with a dark chocolate glaze to top it all off. This cake is slightly different to my usual ones, featuring pink frosting rather than a more neutral tone.

This recipe comprises of light vanilla cake, a delicious lime curd, raspberry swiss meringue buttercream and a dark chocolate glaze. I actually discovered this cake recipe in a French magazine we purchased whilst in Paris. So I had to translate it to English.

Interestingly, the cake does not use butter but instead whipped cream as its form of fat. My mum said that it tastes like a cross between a vanilla sponge and butter cake.

So I hope you enjoy the recipe. You can replace the lime with another citrus fruit, such as orange or lemon if you prefer a different flavoured curd. Then, you can use strawberries, blueberries or blackberries in place of the raspberry for the buttercream; the flavour combinations are endless.

 

Lime and Raspberry Cake

Vanilla Cake

  • 4 eggs
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 300g plain flour
  • 15g baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 300g heavy cream
  1. Preheat the oven to 165 C. Grease and line four 6-inch (15cm) round cake tins.
  2. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 10 minutes. It should be light in colour and tripled in volume.
  3. Sift in the plain flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.
  4. Whip the cream to stiff peaks, and gently fold into the egg and flour mixture in 3 batches.
  5. Distribute batter evenly between cake pans, and bake for 30 minutes until golden or toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
  6. Allow to cool in tins for 20 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack. Set aside to cool completely.

Lime Curd 

  • 4 egg yolks (save egg whites for buttercream)
  • 100g caster sugar
  • Zest and juice of 2 small limes
  • 80g butter, cold and cubed
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, lime zest and juice. Stir continuously over medium-low heat until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it has melted. Transfer into a jar or bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to cool completely.

Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 150g raspberries
  • 150g egg whites
  • 250g sugar
  • 300g softened butter, cubed
  • Pink gel food colouring, optional
  1. In a food processor or blender, process the raspberries until completely smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until puree has thickened and reduced (about 10 minutes). Set aside to cool.
  2. In a heatproof bowl (either glass or stainless steal), add the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, ensuring the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar has dissolved.  Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers and you should feel no granules of sugar.
  3. Remove from the heat and place the bowl onto your stand mixture. Whip for about 5-10 minutes or until the bowl feels cool to the touch. It should be very white and fluffy.
  4. Once the mixture has completely cooled, add the butter a cube at a time beating on medium-high speed.
  5. When all of the butter has been added, pour in the cooled puree and beat until thoroughly combined. Add pink food colouring for a more vibrant colour.

Chocolate Glaze

Adapted from Call Me Cupcake.

  • 75g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 45g butter, cubed
  1. Melt together both ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth.
  2. Allow to cool until slightly thickened.

Assembly

  1. Level and and trim the cooled cakes evenly.
  2. Add a bit of buttercream to your cake stand or platter. Place one of the cake layers on the cake stand, and pipe a circle of raspberry buttercream at the edge of the cake (this is called a “dam”). Fill the circle with lime curd and spread evenly.
  3. Repeat the process of stacking and filling for the next cake layers.
  4. Spread a thin amount of buttercream around the cake to secure any crumbs (this is called a crumb coat). Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from the fridge, and this time – spread a thicker layer of buttercream as the final coat. Gently run a cake scraper around the sides to make the frosting completely smooth.Refrigerate again for 10 minutes.
  6. Then remove the cake from the fridge and pour the chocolate glaze on top it. Spread it to the edges and allow it to drip down the sides. Refrigerate to let the glaze set.
  7. Cut into slices, then serve and enjoy!