Damask print White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

I had a bit of spare time this week and decided to make a more elaborate cake than usual with a few decorative touches. Instead of going down the normal route of making sugarpaste decorations I made a damask printed joconde sponge which was wrapped around a white chocolate and raspberry cake.

Joconde sponge looks very complicated and tends to get responses of  "how did you do that????"  but the technique is actually quite simple and doesn't take very long although it does make quite a bit of washing up! It involves first making a thick coloured paste which creates the design and then a light sponge to hold it all together  For this design you will need a rose damask print stencil which I found in The Works for £1 but you can use any stencil you like or just pipe a design freehand if you're feeling creative!

The top of the cake looked quite plain so I piped on rose swirls using a Wilton 1M nozzle and white chocolate ganache.

For the Joconde Sponge - 

25g soft butter
25g icing sugar
25g egg white
30g plain flour
Gel food colouring

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Beat together the butter, icing sugar, egg white and flour til you have a smooth thick paste.  Add your chosen colour and mix in well.
Place your stencil onto the greaseproof paper and spread the mixture evenly over it.  An angled palette knife makes this easier but a regular one will also work. Peel off the stencil and  repeat until the greaseproof is covered in the design.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes until firm while you make the sponge batter.

45g egg whites
10g caster sugar
60g ground almonds
2 eggs
60g icing sugar
20g plain flour
20g melted butter

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Whisk the egg whites and caster sugar to stiff peaks.
Whisk the almonds, icing sugar and 2 eggs til pale and fluffy.  Fold in the flour followed by the meringue.
Stir 1 tbsp of this mixture into the melted butter then fold it back into the batter.  Retrieve your baking tray from the freezer, pour the batter over the frozen design and spread evenly. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes then allow to cool on the tray.

For the Sponge ; 

225g soft unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
75g frozen raspberries

Line 2 x 20cm cake tins and reduce the oven to 180 degrees C.
Place all the ingredients except the raspberries into a stand mixer and beat until well combined.  Once you have a smooth mixture add the raspberries and mix lightly so they are just beginning to break up.  It is important to use frozen berries so they don't turn to mush.  Divide between the tins and bake for 25 minutes til golden and springy to the touch.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Ganache ;
200g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
175ml double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Heat the cream and vanilla until almost boiling.  Take off the heat and add the white chocolate. Leave to melt for 5 mins before gently stirring until smooth.  Cool to room temperature then whisk using an electric hand whisk until thickened and holding its shape.  Whisking the ganache makes it much lighter and easier to pipe.

To Assemble ; 

Place one cake on your serving plate.  Spread over a layer of ganache (you could use raspberry jam / curd if you prefer) then top with the second cake.

Flip the joconde sponge onto a large board and peel off the greaseproof, revealing the pattern! Trim the edges so they are perfectly straight then cut into long strips the same height as your cake.

Spread ganache or jam around the sides of the cake then wrap around the strips of joconde.  I used 2 whole strips then cut an extra piece to fill in the gap.  Try to match up the pattern as best you can.

Place the remaining ganache into a piping bag with a 1M nozzle and pipe roses over the top of the cake.  For an extra girly touch you could even sprinkle over some edible glitter,  I was making this cake for boys though so I left it off!