Stone Fruit Layer Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

225g Westgold Unsalted Butter, soft

225g caster sugar

Pinch salt

4 eggs, beaten

3 tsp vanilla extract

225g self-raising flour

Filling:

1 ¼ cup cream

2 Tbsp icing sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 vanilla pod, scraped

1 cup mascarpone

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 cup apricot jam

3-4 stone fruits (peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines)

Method

To bake the cake:

Preheat the oven to 160˚C. Line the bottoms of 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper. Place the butter, salt, vanilla and sugar into an electric mixer and beat on high for 5 minutes.

Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well in between until very light and fluffy.

Sift the flour into the butter mixture and gently fold in until just combined.

Spoon into the prepared tins and bake for around 35-40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

To finish the cake:

Prepare the stone fruit by removing the stones and slicing them into pieces.

Beat the cream until thickened. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract and seeds, mascarpone and lemon juice. Beat until combined and the right consistency to spread onto the cake.

Remove the cakes from the tins and place 1 onto a serving plate. Spread the jam over the tops of both the cakes.

Top the bottom cake with half the cream mixture and arrange over ½ the stone fruit. 

Place the second cake on top and spread on the remaining cream and decorate with the fruit pieces.  Serve.