Boysenberry and rose cake recipe

Like most of my recipes this cake is wonderfully adaptable to suit which fruits are in season and which flavours you prefer. You can use any berry you like in this cake (fresh or frozen), and if you’re not a fan of rose, you can swap it out for lemon juice or milk. Either way you will end up with a moist, almondy cake that keeps well and cuts like a dream.

Serves 12
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours

Ingredients
For the cake
200g butter, at room temperature
200g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla paste
4 free range eggs, at room temperature
150g ground almonds
100g white all-purpose flour
Pinch of sea salt
¼ cup rose water
150g fresh or frozen boysenberries

For the icing
150g butter, at room temperature
220g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 tbsp rose water (optional)
100g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp freeze-dried boysenberry / blackberry powder (optional)

For the decorations
Handful of boysenberries / blackberries, freeze-dried or fresh
3 tbsp store-bought berry coulis or jam (optional)
Handful of rose petals, dried or fresh

Directions
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius on fan bake. Line 2 x 22cm cake tins with baking paper.
To make the cake, in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale, light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one by one, mixing well before adding in the next.
In two parts, fold in the ground almonds, flour and salt and mix until just combined. Finally, fold through the rose water.
Evenly divide the batter between the two tins and spread out to the sides. Evenly dot in the boysenberries.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes. The cakes are ready when golden in colour, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool for around 10 minutes in the pans before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Meanwhile make the icing. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until very pale, light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese little by little and continue beating until the icing is completely smooth. Finally, fold through the rose water if using.
Optional if you want to pipe the pink squiggles as in the photo - take about ⅓ cup of the icing and place it in a separate bowl. Mix it with enough freeze-dried blackberry powder to reach the colour you desire. Scoop into a piping bag with a nozzle, or with the tip cut off.
When the cakes are fully cooled, spread half of the white icing onto one layer using an offset palette knife. Place the other layer on top of this and neatly ice the top. Decorate by piping squiggles of the pink icing (if using) and dotting little pools of berry coulis / jam (if using) using a teaspoon or a squeezy bottle. Finally scatter over some berries and rose petals.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.