Raspberry and Almond Frosted Cake

This is a cake perfect for Valentine's Day. With its subtle almond flavour, fruity hit of raspberry and light frosting it's sure to impress that someone special. Admittedly, the frosting does need some experimentation as it didn't quite hold its shape as much as I would have liked and has a slight graininess due to the sugar not dissolving well. It was meant to be a take on Mary Berry's boiled icing used in her frosted walnut cake in which the egg white and sugar mixture are whisked over a pan of boiling water. I wasn't sure if this would work with the aquafaba, but the graininess in this means it's definitely warranted to give it a try. So watch this space for an update on the ultimate meringue/boiled icing recipe. In the meantime, this cake remains delicious and one that would recommended to try! 

Recipe - Makes a 6inch cake

For the sponge:

• 100ml soya milk
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 90g margarine
• 90g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 100g plain flour
• 30g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 handfuls frozen raspberries

For the frosting:

• 50ml aquafaba (water from a tin of chickpeas)
• 150g caster sugar
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

For the decoration:

• 30g ready-to-roll icing
• Pink and red food colouring

Grease and line a 6 inch loose bottomed cake tin and preheat the oven to 170C. To make the sponge, firstly mix the white vinegar into the soya milk and set aside to thicken and curdle. Meanwhile, cream the margarine and sugar until pale and light. Whisk in the milk mixture and the almond extract, adding a small amount at a time, then fold in the flour, almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Tip half of the mixture into the greased and lined tin. Sprinkle over a layer of raspberries, then add the remaining cake mixture and repeat. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove and cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. 

Prepare the decorations by splitting the icing in half and adding the red food colouring to one piece and the pink to the other. Roll out and cut heart shapes. Set aside to dry out slightly. 

When the cake has cooled, make the frosting. Tip the aquafaba into a bowl and whisk with a handheld whisk until soft peaks form. Add the cream of tartar then the caster sugar one spoon at a time, whisking to incorporate. Continue whisking until stiff peaks form. Place the cake on a plate and cover with frosting. Decorate with icing hearts and serve.