What is the difference between vanilla extract and vanilla essence?

A lot. Although many people think you can use them interchangeably, I promise you, there is a big difference. I always advise people to use vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste or pods). A good quality vanilla extract should be made from natural ingredients by soaking vanilla pods in water and ethyl alcohol. The liquids absorb the flavour of the vanilla, creating ‘vanilla extract’. In contrast, vanilla essence is a synthetic vanilla flavouring which gives an artificial taste (it will also be much cheaper).

How do I know which flowers are edible?

I love using rose petals (they have a lovely delicate flavour which is perfect for fruit dishes, jams and jellies). Nasturtium are great but these are rather peppery, a bit like watercress, so are great for savoury dishes like salads. I also use pansies (these are very mild in flavour and add a beautiful colour). I find this edible flower guide really interesting.

What can I do with the leftover egg yolks from the Swiss meringue buttercream?

I love this question! There are so many things you can make with leftover egg yolks - both sweet and savoury. I think one of the most obvious things to make is custard (which is then the perfect excuse to make a crumble!), but you could also make a soft and sweet loaf of brioche, beautifully buttery Gâteau Breton or custard tart. I also heartily recommend trying Claire Ptak's Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookies - they are utterly incredible. In terms of savoury dishes, egg yolks are ideal for creating creamy pastas like my Buttery Lemon Pasta and Carbonara with Guanciale (not forgetting my Udon Carbonara ), as well as homemade mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

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This is a beautiful White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake, perfect for birthdays and more. The balance of tart, fruity raspberries and the silky, sweet white chocolate is perfect.

Author: Margie Nomura
Prep Time: 1 hour + cooling time
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Yield: Serves 10-12 1x
Category: Baking
Method: Oven
Cuisine: British
Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the sponges:

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs
230g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
150g fresh raspberries

For the raspberry jam filling:

100g fresh raspberries
200g raspberry jam

For the white chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream:

180g egg whites
210g caster sugar
350g unsalted butter, softened
130g good-quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt

To decorate:

Fresh raspberries
Edible flowers

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160C Fan and grease and line 2 x 20cm (8-inch) or 23cm (9-inch) round cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest, before gradually beating in the eggs one at a time - add a tbsp of the weighed flour if it looks like it is about to curdle.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, then mix until just combined - take care not to overmix or else you will end up with a tough sponge (but still ensure there are no lumps of flour remaining).
Divide the mixture equally between the two tins (you could weigh the batter to be exact or do it by eye) and level the tops. Place the raspberries evenly across the tops of the sponges, pushing them gently into the mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes or until well risen, golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
For the raspberry jam filling: place the jam and the fresh raspberries in a large bowl. Use the back of a spoon to crush the raspberries, and mix well to combine. Set aside.
For the white chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream: place the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk by hand to combine. Place the bowl over a pot with an inch or so of water in it, simmering over a medium heat. Place the egg whites and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and place over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl (otherwise the egg whites will overheat). Gently whisk by hand for a few minutes to combine. Continue to heat the egg whites and sugar, whisking often (constantly if possible), until the mixture reaches 70C - the sugar should be completely dissolved and the mixture hot to the touch.
Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk using an electric whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed for 8-10 minutes - or until glossy and stiff (this might take you a bit longer). Keep whisking until the mixture and the bowl is at room temperature - otherwise it will melt the butter.
Meanwhile, melt your white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, string occasionally until melted and smooth (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the water). Remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 5 minutes.
If using a stand mixer, swap the whisk attachment for the beater attachment. Whilst mixing on slow-medium speed, gradually add the softened butter 1 tbsp at a time, ensuring that each tbsp is fully incorporated before you add the next.
Once all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until smooth and silky, scraping down the sides of the bowl, if needed.
Add the salt and the melted white chocolate, then continue to mix on high speed for 5 more minutes. The buttercream is now ready to use.
To assemble the cake: place one of the sponges onto a flat serving plate or cake board. Top with some buttercream and, using an offset spatula, palette knife or the back of a spoon, spread in an even layer, making sure you reach the edges of the sponge. Try to ensure there is a slight lip at the edges to contain the jam.
Spoon the jam on top of the buttercream within the lipped edges. Carefully top with the second sponge.
To crumb coat: pipe or spoon the buttercream on top of the sponges and onto the sides - take care not to use too much. Use your offset spatula or palette knife to spread it out across the cake, covering the top and sides. Next, use a scraper to remove excess buttercream from the top and sides of the cake - you don’t need to remove too much of the buttercream, you just need to even it out. Use your spatula or scraper to smooth out any excess that has accumulated on top of the cake from scraping the sides. Place the crumb coated cake in the fridge for 30 minutes - or until the crumb coat has set.
Once the crumb coat has set, proceed with the final layer of buttercream, using a similar method of application and distribution as the crumb coat - but without removing the excess. I find it a lot more enjoyable decorating cakes when I’m less concerned about making them look ‘perfect’ - so have fun when decorating! If you plan to pipe some buttercream onto your cake, keep this in mind when doing the final layer to ensure you leave yourself enough to use.
Pipe any decoration, if doing, and decorate with fresh raspberries and edible flowers, if using.

Notes

You might be tempted to skip the crumb coat, but I wouldn't advise if you want the cake to have a nice clean finish. It's really easy, just takes chilling in the fridge.

I love the combination of raspberries and white chocolate, but you could also use cherries and cherry jam, strawberries and strawberry jam or blueberries and blueberry jam. All would be delicious!

Find it online: https://desertislanddishes.co/white-chocolate-raspberry-cake/