It's my Birthday; I'll have cake if I want to!

It's officially the first day of Autumn and it is a gloriously sunny day. Now that we're in the Autumn territory now, I should be making something apple-y and cinnamon-y before venturing into the pumpkin-y goodness in October, which, I cannot wait for! I never used to like Autumn, but now I love it- the colours, the flavours (the pumpkin!!) But for now I just wanted to squeeze one last summery recipe in! My grandma and I both had our birthdays last week- I'd made this mini cake for my her birthday- and it went down very well!

I came across a recipe for a healthy raspberry curd via Desserts With Benefits, made using raspberry puree and sweeteners. Less sugar = healthy(er) cake so you can have twice as much. To be fair, chiffon type cakes are not as calorie laden as most butter based cakes so I definitely don't feel as guilty for eating it. This cake is lovely, incredibly fluffy and light, paired perfectly with the raspberry curd, fresh whipped cream. Sums up summer pretty well, don't you think?

**Above photo is cream cake no.2- just to show the cake interior!

SUPER FLUFFY CREAM CAKE WITH RASPBERRY CURD

Yield 1 7-8" ish round cake

Ingredients:

Raspberry Curd

100g seedless raspberry puree (blitz frozen/fresh raspberries in a food processor and press through a mesh to get rid of the seeds)
3 tbsp sweetener (I used stevia)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Whisk together all the ingredients in a pan. 
2. Place over medium heat and continue whisking/stirring until mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the heat.
3. Stir every 5mins until cool. Cover and store in the fridge.

Sponge

3 egg yolks

30g caster sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp oil

50g plain flour

10g cornflour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 egg whites

50g caster sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Line a swiss roll tin/ baking pan with baking paper (My tin is approximately 10 x 15")
2. Preheat the oven to 170ºC. 
3. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and 30g caster sugar until pale. Add the water and oil and whisk until combined.
4. Sift into the yolk mixture the flour, cornflour and baking powder. Whisk until incorporated.
5. Meanwhile, put the egg whites in a clean bowl free from water/grease, use a hand whisk to whisk until frothy. Add the 50g of caster sugar in bit by bit, followed by the cream of tartar and whisk the meringue mixture until stiff peaks form
6. Take 1/3 of the meringue and fold into the yolk mixture. Once it has been fully incorporated, add the next 1/3 of meringue, fold, and finally folding in the remaining 1/3 of meringue
7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smooth the top using a palette knife and bake for 8-10mins, or until light golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean (Be careful not to overbake, as this will make the sponge too dry and will crack when rolling)
8. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool
9. Once cool, peel off the baking paper and cut the sponge in half lengthways
10. Spread a thin layer of raspberry curd on one side and roll up like a swiss roll. Repeat the process with the other half of sponge, align with the end of the swiss roll and continue the rolling
11. Trim off the ends of the swiss roll to neaten up.
12. Flip the swiss roll so it is vertical.

To Finish:

300ml double cream
3-4 tbsp icing sugar, or to taste
Chopped almonds and hazelnuts to decorate.
Fresh raspberries and strawberries

1. Whip the double cream and icing sugar until stiff peaks, and coat the top and sides of the cake. Pipe cream decorations around the top, if you wish
2. Coat the sides with the chopped nuts, and decorate the top with fresh raspberries and strawberries.

Notes:

• I use Elmea Double/ Double Light- which is a dairy cream alternative. I prefer to use this, or mix this with normal double cream when making cream cakes as it gives a much smoother finish and 'solidifies' slightly when chilled, allowing for a more stable cake.
• For a 7-8" round cake I actually made 2 x sponge sheets and continued rolling the swiss roll- 1 will make a mini cake, as shown in the first two photos above.