Author: Jen

This vanilla latte cake has four thin layers of genoise sponge, soaked with a coffee syrup and coated with a coffee and a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. The cake feels like more of a dessert than a cake, as the sponge is incredibly moist after it is soaked in the syrup.

For the Genoise Sponge

• 3 large eggs
• 90g caster sugar
• 90g plain flour
• 25g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with baking paper and two 16cm diameter rings.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and leave to cool whilst you prepare the other ingredients. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl over a bain marie until the mixture is hot to the touch (if you have a thermometer it needs to be about 50°C).

Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to whisk until the mixture is lighter in colour, bigger in volume and has cooled down.

Pass the flour through a sieve and then gently fold into the egg and sugar mix. To help incorporate the butter, take a small amount of the batter and mix with the melted butter. Then transfer the butter mix into the larger batter mix and gently fold in.

Carefully (try not to knock any air out) transfer the batter evenly between the two rings on the baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until firm to the touch. Once baked, leave to cool in the ring.

Once the cakes are cool, run a palette knife around the edges of the rings and remove the cakes.

For the Imbibing Syrup

• 150g caster sugar
• 150ml water
• 50ml  espresso

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in the saucepan. Take off the heat and add the coffee and stir. Leave to one side until needed.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 6 egg whites
• 300g caster sugar
• 300g unsalted butter (cubed and at room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 3 tbsp espresso coffee

Whisk the egg whites and the sugar together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk together until the meringue reaches 70°C.

Pour the meringue into a stand mixture and whisk on high until it has cooled down and reached stiff peak stage (this can take 5-10 minutes). Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and add the butter one cube at a time. Make sure each cube is fully mixed in before adding the next. If the mixture curdles, keep whisking slowly and it will come back together. Add the vanilla and whisk in.

Divide the buttercream into 3 bowls, add 2 tablespoons of coffee to one of the bowls and the third tablespoon of coffee to another.

To assemble the cake, cut the 2 genoise sponges in half so there will be four layers of cake. Place the first layer of cake on a cake board, and brush a quarter of the imbibing syrup evenly over the sponge. Then smooth over the stronger coffee buttercream over the top and sides. Repeat with the 3 remaining layers of cake, using the weaker coffee buttercream in the middle of the cake and the vanilla buttercream on the  top. Decorate the top with the coffee buttercream and some coffee beans.

We bravely battled many wasps to collect some apples from our tree to make this cake, but it was definitely worth it. This cake has three layers of cinnamon sponge, filled with an apple crème pâtissière and pastry crumbs and covered with a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and more pastry crumbs. It’s a perfect and very yummy way of using up a few apples, before the wasps get to them…

For the Cinnamon Sponge

• 300g self raising flour
• 265g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 265g caster sugar
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan oven). Grease three sandwich tins  (diameter 8 inches) with butter then dust with flour.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until it is light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a separate bowl then add the grated nutmeg.

Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed butter and sugar. With each egg add a tablespoon of flour and beat well until fully incorporated. With the last egg, add the teaspoon of milk and beat as usual. When all the eggs have been added, fold in the remaining flour mixture.

Split the batter evenly between the three tins, level the tops with a spatula then place in the oven to bake for about 20 – 25 minutes. The cakes should be risen and golden. Test with a skewer or cocktail stick to confirm the cakes are done. Once done, turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

Apple Crème Pâtissière

• 4-5 apples
• 4 egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• 60g cornflour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Peel and core the apples, then cut into small cubes. Put the apples into a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover them. Bring the saucepan to the boil for about 10-15 minutes until very soft. Use a fork to crush any larger pieces of apple to make a smooth apple purée.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour.

Heat the apple purée until it starts to steam. Pour a small amount into the egg yolk mixture and whisk together. Then pour the egg yolk mixture in to the saucepan with the rest of the purée and whisk together. Turn the heat up to maximum and whisk constantly. Keep moving the whisk at all times otherwise you risk parts of the mix burning on the bottom of the saucepan. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes thick, then quickly turn out in to a clean bowl. Add a small pinch of cinnamon and whisk in. Cover with cling film, with the film touching the surface of the crème pâtissière (this stops it forming a skin on top) and leave to cool.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Crumbs

• 200g plain flour
• 50g icing sugar
• 100g unsalted butter (cubed)
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• pinch of vanilla powder

I used about half this amount of pastry for this cake, but rather than trying to use half an egg, I made the pastry and before baking, split the pastry in two, keeping half wrapped in cling film in the fridge to use for something else.

Sift the flour, salt and icing sugar on to a clean surface. Add the butter and rub into the dry ingredients until it looks like breadcrumbs. Make a small well in the centre and add the egg (if you have a large egg, you may not need all of it, so whisk it up in a small bowl first and add a bit at a time).

Mix the egg into the dry ingredients. An easy way to do this is to use the heel of your hand to push the mix against the work top a bit at a time until it all comes together in to a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge to firm up for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and pop the chilled pastry into the centre. Roll out the pastry to cover the sheet and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden in colour. Leave to cool on the tray. Once cool, break up into small pieces with your fingers.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 4 egg whites
• 200g caster sugar
• 200g unsalted butter (cubed and at room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Pour the egg whites and the sugar in to a heat proof bowl, then place on top of a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Whisk the egg whites and sugar together over the water. Using a sugar thermometer, check the temperature of the mixture. Keep whisking until the meringue reaches 70°C.

Then pour the meringue into a stand mixture and whisk on high until the meringue has cooled down and reached stiff peak stage (can take 5-10 minutes). At this stage, put the mixer on a slow speed and add the butter, one cube at a time. After adding all the butter the mixture may look curdled but keep whisking slowly and it will come back together. Once it has turned in to a light buttercream, add the vanilla extract and stir in.

To assemble the cake, secure one of the cakes to a cake board or stand with a small amount of buttercream. Put both the crème pâtissière and the buttercream in two separate piping bags. Pipe a ring of buttercream on the first layer of cake. Then pipe about half the crème pâtissière in to the centre of the cake. Crumble up the cooled pastry and sprinkle a small handful on top of the crème pâtissière.

Place the next layer of cake on top and repeat.

Place the final cake on top and pipe the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Use a palette knife to smooth down the sides. Chill in the fridge to firm up the buttercream. Sprinkle the top with more of the pastry crumbs and decorate with apple slices and a stick of cinnamon.