White chocolate and raspberry gateau recipe

This white chocolate and raspberry gateau is absolutely beautiful to look at, but even better than that, it tastes like a white chocolate dream. 

With four slim tiers of delicate vanilla sponge, each separated with layers of sweet icing mixed with real raspberries, and a fancy crushed hazelnut decoration on the sides, this looks like it was made in a professional bakery. So you might be surprised to learn there is nothing difficult about making this cake. The cake is a basic Victoria sponge, the icing is a simple cream cheese frosting laced with some crushed raspberries. And the fancy nut decoration is so easy to do with some greaseproof paper. To prove it, we've included a video so you can follow along, step by step.

Ingredients

• 250g butter, at room temperature
• 250g golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 250g self-raising flour

For the icing:

• 700g butter
• 600g icing sugar
• 350g Philadelphia
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g raspberries, crushed
• 1 tbsp cassis
• white chocolate, grated (to decorate)
• toasted hazelnuts, crushed (to decorate)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C, gas 4. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla (add a little flour if the mix curdles), then fold in all the flour.
2. Divide the mixture between 2x20cm sandwich tins, greased and base lined with baking paper. Bake for 25 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 5 mins. Turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
3. Meanwhile, to make the icing, beat together the butter and icing sugar until light and airy, then fold in the Philadelphia and vanilla. Put a third into a separate bowl and fold in the crushed raspberries and cassis.
4. Carefully split the 2 cakes in half, horizontally, to make 4 layers. Put the bottom cake onto a serving plate and spread with a third of the raspberry icing, then repeat until you have 4 layers.
5. Decorate the cake with the remaining icing and smooth with a palette knife. Mix together the chocolate and nuts, and push onto the sides of the cake.

Watch how to make white chocolate and raspberry gateau

Top tip for making white chocolate and raspberry gateau

You can replace the raspberries with other seasonal soft fruit - just remember to use complementary jam and freeze-dried decorations too.

Can I use other fruits for this cake?

Raspberry and white chocolate are a match made in heaven, but fresh, seasonal ones are best. If it's not the right season for them, you could use tinned cherries instead, adding a little of the syrup to the icing as well. 

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