WATERMELON AND RASPBERRY STACKERS
WATERMELON AND RASPBERRY STACKERS
Recipe
My best friend got married in Sydney a while back and this recipe is inspired by her wedding cake: Black Star Pastry’s signature Strawberry Watermelon Cake. I still dream about it! You’ll find these little desserts to be fresh, light and fragrant – and deceivingly simple to make.
Makes 8 stackers
INGREDIENTS
For the cake discs
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g ground almonds
50g all purpose white or spelt flour
Pinch sea salt
For the assembly
1⁄2 large watermelon
2 punnets fresh raspberries
1 1⁄3 cups mascarpone
1⁄4 cup icing sugar, for dusting
INGREDIENTS
For the cake discs
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g ground almonds
50g all purpose white or spelt flour
Pinch sea salt
For the assembly
1⁄2 large watermelon
2 punnets fresh raspberries
1 1⁄3 cups mascarpone
1⁄4 cup icing sugar, for dusting
- First, make the cake discs. Preheat oven to 180°C on fan bake. Line a 35cm x 25cm tray with baking paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla.
- Gradually fold in the ground almonds, flour and salt and mix until just combined. Be sure not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the baking tray and spread out to the sides. The cake should be about 2cm deep.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes. The cake is ready when golden in colour, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for around 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, cut the skin off the watermelon and cut into 2cm / 3⁄4" thick rounds. Using a circular cookie cutter or a glass with a sharp edge (7cm / 3" in diameter), cut out discs from the watermelon slices.
- Once the cake is cool, repeat the process. You want eight perfect watermelon discs and 16 perfect cake discs.
- Next, assemble the stackers. First take a cake disc. Using a piping bag or resealable bag with one corner cut off, pipe about a tablespoon of mascarpone onto it and then press a watermelon disc on top. Pipe another tablespoon of mascarpone onto the watermelon disc and then press five raspberries into it. Repeat with the mascarpone and finish by pressing a cake disc on top.
- Repeat until you have made eight stackers.
- Finally, dust each with some icing sugar.
- Serve immediately. Refrigerate in an airtight container for no longer than 24 hours.