Triple layered Simnel cake recipe

Give your Simnel cake a twist with this delicious triple layered Simnel cake recipe.

This triple layered Simnel cake has a modern and colourful twist. With pink raspberry layer and white chocolate frosting to make an impressive Easter cake. Upgrade your Easter baking with this beautiful and colourful cake. We bet all your guests will be impressed with your baking skills! As well as baking the cakes, you will also have to make the frosting. Don't worry - it's a lot easier than it looks. To make the white chocolate frosting, you will only need four ingredients - egg whites, caster sugar, unsalted butter, and Belgian white chocolate. For the fillings, you can use any chocolate spread and raspberry jam you have in your cupboard. This special Simnel cake is beautifully decorated with 12 white chocolate truffles to signify Jesus’ 12 disciples, and sprinkle pink stardust. This cake is ideal for serving a lot of people and would make the ideal showstopper on Easter Sunday.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe you will need:

• 175g butter, at room temperature
• 350g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 300g self raising flour, sieved
• ¼tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 400ml buttermilk
• 25g cocoa, sieved
• 50g ground almonds
• 100g raspberries, squashed
• 10ml hot pink gel food colour (we used Dr Oetker)

For the filling:

• 3 tbsp chocolate spread
• 3 tbsp raspberry jam

For the white chocolate frosting:

• 3 large egg whites
• 250g caster sugar
• 200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 200g Belgian white chocolate, broken into squares

To decorate:

• 12 white chocolate truffles
• sprinkle pink stardust

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease and line 3 x 20cm round cake tins.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and buttermilk, to make a smooth mixture.
3. Divide the mixture into 3 bowls. Add the cocoa to one bowl and 25g ground almonds to each of the other bowls. Add the raspberries and pink gel colour to one of the bowls with the almonds. Stir each bowl, gently to combine. Spoon the different mixtures into the prepared tins and bake for 25 mins until well risen and shrinking away from the sides.
4. Cool cakes in tins for 5 mins, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Remove lining paper. Put the chocolate cake onto a cake stand and spread over the chocolate spread. Top with the raspberry cake and spread with the jam, then finish with the almond cake.
5. Put the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl from a free-standing mixer and rest over a pan of simmering water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and whisk until a thick meringue. Gradually add the butter, and keep on whisking (don’t rush this!). Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Continue whisking the meringue mixture and slowly pour in the melted white chocolate. Use a palette knife to spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Finish with 12 white chocolate truffles, to signify Jesus’ 12 disciples.