Poppy seed, almond and raspberry mascarpone birthday cake

It was mine and my twin’s birthday on New Years Eve and as I am the baker in the house, I thought I would make my own birthday cake! This recipe came from a Women’s Weekly Indulgent Cakes cookbook and it originally calls for hazelnut meal however I used almond meal instead and it still tasted great. It’s an extremely tall cake and relatively easy to put together. The cutting of the cake is probably the hardest part!

– INGREDIENTS –

1/2 cup (75g) poppy seeds

1 cup (250ml) milk

250g butter, softened

2 cups (440g) caster sugar

6 eggs

2 cups (300g) self raising flour, sifted

2 cups (240g) hazelnut or almond meal

1 cup (240g) sour cream

500g mascarpone

300ml pouring cream

1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

200g dark chocolate, chopped

375g raspberries (fresh)

– METHOD –

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius and grease two 20cm (8 inch) round cake pans, line the bases and sides with paper.

2. Place poppy seeds and milk in a small bowl, soak for 15 mins.

3. Beat the butter and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time until just combined. Add flour, nut meal, sour cream and poppy seed mixture. Beat on a low speed until just combined. Spoon mixture evenly between pans.

4. Bake cakes for 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking them every 20-30 minutes. Once cooked and a skewer comes out clean, remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool.

5. Beat mascarpone, 1/2 cup of the cream and sifted icing sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until firm peaks form.

6. Place chocolate and the remaining cream in a small saucepan. Stir over a low heat until melted and smooth. Cool for 5 minutes.

7. Level cakes, split each cake into two layers. Reserve 60g of raspberries for the top. Place one cake layer on the cake stand and spread with one-third of the mascarpone cream. Top with one-third of the remaining raspberries. Repeat layering of the cakes, mascarpone and raspberries, finishing with a layer of cake. Spread top of the cake with chocolate mixture, allowing some to drizzle down the side. Decorate with reserved raspberries.