Paul's berry sponge

Paul's berry sponge

Make the most of British summer berries by piling them onto a stunning layered sponge

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 10

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 mins

Freezable

Freeze unfilled

Method

  1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Brush 2 x 20cm cake tins with melted butter, line the bases with baking paper, then dust well with flour tipping out any excess. Set aside.
  2. Put the sugar and eggs in a large heatproof bowl, then set it over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk with an electric hand whisk for about 7 mins or until the mixture is pale and has trebled in volume. Remove from the heat, then slowly pour in the butter folding it in as you pour until it is completely mixed in.
  3. Gently fold the flour and a pinch of salt into the egg mixture, then pour into your prepared cake tins. Cook for 25 mins until the cake is golden and risen - a skewer pushed into the cake should come out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for a few mins in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
  4. Meanwhile, whip the cream until it just holds its shape, then set aside. Whizz about a quarter of the strawberries with 1 tbsp sugar until smooth, then fold this purée through the cream so you get a ripple effect.
  5. To assemble the cakes, cut each one in half horizontally. Put one sponge on a serving plate, spread a quarter of the cream mix on top, then dot a quarter of the blueberries and raspberries around the edge. Repeat this step two more times, put the last layer of cake on top (save a top half of cake for the top layer), spread the remaining cream over, then put the blueberries and raspberries around the edge and pile the strawberries in the centre. Dust with icing sugar just before you serve.

Per serving

621 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 55g, fat 42 g, saturated fat 22g, fibre 2g, sugar 35g, salt 0.26 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2011.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Cat

    30 August 2011

    Cat commented on this recipe

    Looks great, but how does one cut/serve it neatly??

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  • Binder photo cranfield

    31 August 2011

    cranfield commented on this recipe

    I attempted this cake last night and it was a flop , firstly how do you fold and incorperate all the flour into the wet egg mixture with out knocking the air out and secondely how do you avoid lumps of egg in the mixture

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  • Binder photo Liz

    31 August 2011

    Liz commented on this recipe

    I haven't made this cake so can't help with above problems, but would really recommend the similar 'raspberry layer cake' on this site - I've made it twice and its lovely - easy to make and assemble, delicious and easy to transport.

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  • Binder photo LMac Ediburgh

    03 September 2011

    LMac Ediburgh commented on this recipe

    For Cat I would recommend a long sharp carving knife, or alternatively make it 2 layers and not 4. For Cranfield, this is a classic sponge cake method and provided the eggs and sugar mix is done correctly (leaves a trail with the whisk when ready) then if you are careful and fold in the flour with a large metal spoon, then you shouldn't get lumps or lose the air. I would seriously try half the ingredients if you are not sure about the methods!

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  • Binder photo Mimi

    03 September 2011

    Mimi commented on this recipe

    This is a Genoese sponge which even seasoned bakers find tricky. It's lighter than the classic sponge but is still firm. I've made it many times and still struggle at times. I fold in the flour in batches, sifting it over the mixture and folding gently but deftly and add the next batch while there are still streaks of flour from the previous addition. This allows the flour to incorporate evenly without losing air. Making this type of sponge is a skill that you have to persevere to perfect; a classic sponge method (creaming butter & sugar, etc) would work just as well as a base for this cake.

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  • Binder photo misskitty

    26 March 2012

    misskitty rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this cake for a summer party. It went down like a treat.

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  • Binder photo misskitty

    27 April 2012

    misskitty commented on this recipe

    excellent cake. Yummy.

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  • Binder photo VS Shibu

    30 April 2012

    VS Shibu rated this recipe

    1 stars

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  • Binder photo KatyBeckford

    09 June 2012

    KatyBeckford commented on this recipe

    I have tried this and it was a total disaster. Followed the recipe to the latter and am not a bad cake make. This is my nemesis!

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  • Binder photo tomlilley672

    17 June 2012

    tomlilley672 commented on this recipe

    I just made this and it is amassing I don't understand how other people went wrong

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  • Binder photo jackie

    08 July 2012

    jackie commented on this recipe

    I made this for my daughter's 21st party. It was a fabulous centrepiece, and everyone enjoyed it. Just be careful to cut the sponges straight when you halve them, or it will be a bit wobbly.

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  • Binder photo LucyHall x

    11 August 2012

    LucyHall x rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Wow- an amazing cake! I found it a little difficult but I am only 12 and I did all of it on my own. You need to make sure you have ALL the right ingredients if you want it to turn out good. I had lots of cream left though and I was short on rasberrys so make sure you have more rasberrys then it says. I had too much blueberries and strawberries. The cake is quite simple to make!

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  • Binder photo petemurf

    18 February 2013

    petemurf commented on this recipe

    great cake

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 10

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 mins

Freezable

Freeze unfilled

Ingredients

  • 50g butter , melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 250g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
  • 250g caster sugar plus 1 tbsp
  • 8 medium eggs
  • 600ml pot double cream
  • 400g punnet strawberries , halved
  • 180g punnet blueberries
  • 150g punnet raspberries
  • icing sugar , to dust
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Per serving

621 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 55g, fat 42 g, saturated fat 22g, fibre 2g, sugar 35g, salt 0.26 g

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