Orange & ginger spiced Christmas cake

Method

• step 1

  First, make the sugared rosemary. Whisk the egg white for 1 min until foamy, then brush this over the rosemary sprigs. Dip the sprigs in the sugar to coat, then arrange on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Set aside to dry overnight, uncovered. Will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

• step 2

  Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter three 20cm cake tins and line with baking parchment. Beat the butter, orange zest, glacé ginger and ground ginger together using an electric whisk until creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, to fully incorporate.

• step 3

  Combine the flour, baking powder and ½ tsp fine sea salt in a second bowl. Gently mix half the dry ingredients into the wet, then the yogurt or soured cream, followed by the remaining dry ingredients until just combined.

• step 4

  Divide the batter between the tins and smooth the surface. Bake for 20-22 mins until the sponges are risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 mins before carefully turning out onto wire racks and cooling completely.

• step 5

  For the buttercream, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water), or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between each burst. Leave to cool to room temperature.

• step 6

  Meanwhile, beat the butter using an electric whisk until very pale and creamy. Slowly beat in half the icing sugar until incorporated, then turn up the speed and continue to beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Repeat with the remaining icing sugar.

• step 7

  Scrape in the cooled melted chocolate and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Add 1 tbsp of the milk and beat to loosen, adding the rest in small increments if needed – you want the buttercream to hold its shape, but still be soft and spreadable. Divide the buttercream between two bowls. Mix the orange zest and ginger into one of the bowls until fully combined.

• step 8

  To assemble the cake, put one cooled sponge on a cake board or serving plate and spread over a third of the spiced orange buttercream. Top with the second sponge and another third of the spiced buttercream. Top with the third sponge, inverting it so the flat side is on top. Spread the remaining spiced buttercream over in a thin coat, smoothing it into an even layer using a palette knife – this doesn’t need to be perfect; this ‘crumb coat’ helps capture any loose crumbs so the final covering is smooth. Chill for 30 mins to firm up.

• step 9

  Spread half the plain buttercream over the top and side of the cake, smoothing it into an even layer using a palette knife or cake scraper. Chill for another 30 mins to firm up. Spoon two-thirds of the remaining plain buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large basketweave piping nozzle (ours was roughly 5cm wide). Spoon the rest into a piping bag fitted with a small petal-style nozzle.

• step 10

  

  

  

  Pipe long, wavy lines of buttercream up the side and over the top of the cake using the basketweave nozzle (see pic 1). Start at the bottom of one side, then pipe up and over – you can be quite playful. Don’t worry if lines break while piping, as you can cover these later with decorations. Use the petal nozzle to pipe little frills and squiggles in between the wider lines (see pic 2). Carefully press dried orange slices, sprinkles and freeze-dried raspberries over the cake (see pic 3), crushing some of the raspberries as you sprinkle these over. Decorate with the sugared rosemary and mist with lustre dust, if you like.