Wimbledon Cake

To mark the return of Wimbledon today I figured a spot of baking was in order, and there's nothing more on theme than a Mary Berry Wimbledon Cake. I've wanted to try making it for ages but refused to let myself even assemble the ingredients before the championships began!

This orange-infused semolina sponge is sandwiched together with whipped cream, sliced strawberries and passion fruit, and is the perfect accompaniment to the tennis over the next fortnight.

This is a classic Mary Berry recipe, and can be found in her book Mary Berry's Baking Bible, and below with my notes and photographs.

Ingredients:

For the sponge:
3 large eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
1 orange, zest and juice

For the filling:
100g strawberries
1 passion fruit
150ml whipping or double cream
Icing sugar, to dust

A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a baking competition on twitter, and the lovely people at Whitworths sent me an enormous box of goodies from baking ingredients to Mason Cash equipment, and I'm delighted to finally be putting this prize to good use! Today I've only used the large mixing bowl, but I'm looking forward to putting everything else to the test in the kitchen over the summer. Thank you!

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 160C Fab / Gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm (8") deep round cake tin.

Place the egg yolks, sugar, semolina and the zest and juice of the orange into a bowl and beat until thoroughly blended.

In a separate clean bowl or a free-standing electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff - but not dry.

(N.B. KitchenAids are currently in the Lakeland sale and I cannot recommend mine enough: if you're a keen baker then it's an essential piece of equipment! It's expensive initially but it's well worth it: I genuinely think I'd be lost without mine...)

Then, gently fold into the orange and semolina mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until well risen and the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed.

Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Reserve a few strawberries to decorate the top of the cake, then slice the remainder.

Halve the passion fruit and scoop out the pulp.

To fill the cake, cut it in half horizontally and spread a layer of cream on the bottom half.

Top with the sliced strawberries and passion fruit pulp.

Top with the other half of the cake and decorate with the remaining strawberries. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Well this went down well at home: within 24 hours it had totally disappeared! The semolina gives the sponge a rather short texture, so it's not as light and moist as a standard Victoria sponge but don't worry: it's just as delicious! The addition of orange really is inspired too, as it lifts the flavour and adds a welcome citrusy kick.

Strawberries and cream are practically a textbook definition of both 'Wimbledon' and 'summer', so this couldn't be more perfect! I was very wary about the addition of passion fruit, but as I trust Mary Berry explicitly I ultimately had every faith that it would work out. As it happens, the passion fruit cuts through the sweetness of the strawberries and stops the cake from being too sickly. Plus, it's immediately a lot more interesting both in terms of flavour and appearance!

What are your thoughts on this Wimbledon Cake? Will you be eating a slice of this while watching the tennis and cheering on Andy Murray? I've already been requested to make another one, so I know I will!

Mary Berry's Wimbledon Cake: game, set, match.

[N.B. this post contains affiliate links to Lakeland products.]