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Paradise cake

Eric Lanlard from Good Food Live
When you want to pull out all the stops try Eric Lanlard's exquisite confection of sponge, raspberries and Bavarois cream

Paradise cake

Method

1. Place the raspberries in a bowl. Add enough framboise to barely cover. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside to soak overnight. Drain the raspberries, reserving the framboise.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

3. Now make the almond sponge. In a mixing bowl, using an electric beater. beat the eggs, icing sugar and almonds together to a ribbon consistency.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then beat in the caster sugar.

5. Fold the melted butter into the almond mixture.

6. Fold in the flour then fold in the whisked egg whites.

7. Pour the mixture into a greased, lined 20cm cake tin. Bake the sponge for 20 to 25 minutes until set and risen. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

8. While the sponge is baking make the bavarois cream. Set the gelatine to soak for 10 minutes in a small bowl with just enough cold water to cover.

9. In a mixing bowl whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until well-blended.

10. Place the milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan. Bring to boiling point. Remove the vanilla pod.

11. Pour half the hot milk onto the whisked yolk mixture, stirring constantly as you do so. Return the yolk and milk mixture to the saucepan containing the hot milk and mix in well.

12. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the yolk and milk mixture thickens into a custard and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

13. In a mixing bowl, mix together the custard and the softened gelatine and set aside to cool.

14. Whisk the whipping cream until soft peaks form and fold in a few drops of rose essence. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled custard mixture to complete the Bavarois cream.

15. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment at the base and a pink greaseproof ribbon around the sides of the tin.

16. Carefully slice the almond sponge into 3 discs, each 0.5cm thick. Place one of the sponge discs inside the lined cake tin. Brush generously with the reserved framboise.

17. Spread a layer of the Bavarian cream over the sponge and sprinkle over half of the framboise-soaked raspberries.

18. Repeat this process again. Complete the cake by placing the third sponge disc on top. Cover the Paradise cake and chill in the refrigerator until set.

19. Once set, use a palette knife to spread a layer of rose jam over the surface of the cake. Decorate with a few rose petals, Serve.