Wild Raspberry and Almond Sponge Cake…

Last week, while I was out walking Dog, I spotted that the local wild raspberries were ripe, so on Sunday morning, I set off with an empty ice cream container (minus Dog, as she gets bored standing still for too long!!), to pick some.

I decided to make a Raspberry and Almond Sponge Cake - I often make a frangipane tart that is just known as ‘The Pie’ in our house, and which is so popular with Mr HC and Son that they complain that I don’t make it often enough – so I knew this sponge cake would go down well!

125g / 4 1⁄2 oz butter or sunflower margarine

125g / 4 1⁄2 oz soft golden granulated sugar

2 medium free range eggs

125g / 4 1⁄2 oz ground almonds

125g / 4 1⁄2 oz self-raising flour

3 drops of vanilla essence

2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

160g / 5 1⁄2 oz raspberries Icing sugar for sprinkling on the top

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350° / gas mark 4

1. Place the butter or margarine and sugar into a large bowl and mix together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until they are combined with the butter/sugar mixture.
3. Add in the ground almonds and flour to the bowl and stir them into the mixture until it all the almonds and flour have been incorporated.
4. Add the vanilla essence and the milk to the mixture and stir well.
5. Add the raspberries to the bowl, gently folding them into the mixture.
6. Line the bottom of an 18 cm / 7 in cake tin with grease-proof paper. Spoon the cake mixture into the cake tin and smooth out the top.
7. Place the cake into the oven and bake for 50 minutes. Use a cocktail stick or skewer to check that the cake is cooked through, if the stick comes out clean the cake is done, if it is still slightly gooey in the middle, pop the cake back into the oven for a few minutes.
8. Carefully remove the cake from the cake tin and place it onto a wire tray to cool, then gently removing the piece of grease-proof paper from the bottom of the cake.
9. Leave the cake to cool for about five minutes and then sieve some icing sugar over the top.
10. Leave the cake to cool before serving, if you can wait that long!

I am entering the bakespriration challenge in the cake category.