Nicola says: “This Victoria sponge breaks the mould of the classic equal parts sugar/flour/butter/eggs. I made more than 30 cakes to get the ratio just right. By replacing some of the butter with egg yolks and adding double cream, we get an extra-moist cake with good structure and lots of flavour. Reducing the butterfat also allows the other flavours, like the milkiness of the double cream, to come through, providing a wonderfully rich and tender backdrop for your cream and fruit. Roasted strawberries could be swapped for jam, but the rich syrup is unbeatable.”

Serves 8-10

Equipment

• 2 x 20cm cake tins

Ingredients

For the roasted strawberries:

• 200g strawberries
• 20g caster sugar

For the cake:

• 200g butter, softened
• 5g flaky sea salt (about 1⅓ tsp)
• 245g caster sugar
• 65g double cream
• 160g whole eggs (about 3)
• 35g egg yolks (about 2)
• 1-2 tsp good quality vanilla extract
• 90g whole milk
• 245g plain flour
• 17g baking powder (about 4 tsp)
• 25g caster sugar

For the whipped cream:

• 200g double cream
• 40g crème fraîche (optional)
• 15g-20g caster sugar (optional)

Plus:

• Icing sugar, to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan.

2. To make the roasted strawberries, wash the strawberries briefly and halve. If they’re small, just leave them whole. Toss with the sugar on a baking tray. Roast for 30-40 minutes until soft, syrupy and slightly shrunken. The strawberries will go a deeper shade of red. You can keep cooking them for up to an hour. Allow them to cool and move into a container with all the syrup. You can store them in the fridge for 3-5 days.

3. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan and line the tins. Set aside.

4. To make the cake, cream the soft butter with the salt and sugar for 2 minutes on a medium speed using a stand mixer. This is enough for the butter and sugar to aerate slightly and become a little paler, but not so much that it is whipped. It is better to err on the side of caution – we don’t want too much air at this stage!

5. Mix together the cream, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract and milk. Set aside.

6. Sift together the plain flour and baking powder. Set aside. Starting with the liquid, alternate adding the liquid and dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar, in around three batches, scraping down as necessary.

7. Divide the mixture between the two tins, around 475-500g per cake. Sprinkle one cake with the 25g sugar. This will be your top.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, then check if the sponge is golden and bouncy and pulling away from the sides slightly. Bake for an additional 5 minutes if it doesn’t look or feel ready.

9. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack.

10. To make the filling, whip the cream with the crème fraîche, if using, and caster sugar, if using, to very soft peaks, then set aside.

11. Spread the cream filling over the unsugared sponge, leaving a 2-3cm border so it doesn’t splurge too much, followed by generous dollops of the roasted strawberries and their syrup. You may not need to use it all. As a splurging insurance policy, you can pop your assembled cake in the fridge or freezer to firm up the cream a bit.

12. Place the sugared sponge on top. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired. Serve with any extra roasted strawberry syrup.

Note

If you are working with very high-fat cream, I recommend adding about 20g of whole milk to help prevent curdling and to keep the peaks lovely and soft.

Nicola says: “This ultra-rich, two-textured cake has a secret. What is it? Well, let me tell you: the fudgy cake and mousse layer is made out of the same mix. One half of the mixture is baked, while the other is simply poured on top and left to set into a mousse. This recipe is based on a Gateau Marcel and is a bit of ‘2-for-1’ magic. Nestled in between the layers are Sauternes-soaked raisins, though you could swap these for brandied cherries or whatever might take your fancy. Finish it off with a thick dusting of bitter cocoa powder and you have, in my opinion, the ultimate chocolate dessert.”

Serves 8-10

Equipment

• 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin

Ingredients

• 75g raisins (golden or black)
• 100g Sauternes sweet wine
• 6 whole eggs, separated (about 185g egg whites and 120g egg yolks)
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g dark chocolate, chopped
• 225g butter
• 1-2g flaky sea salt (about ¼-½ tsp)

Plus:

• Cocoa powder, to dust

Method

1. To soak the raisins, place them in a bowl, pour over the Sauternes and cover. Leave for at least 2 hours or overnight, but they will keep (covered) for up to 1 month in the fridge.

2. Preheat the oven to 195°C/175°C fan. Line the tin with baking paper.

3. Whisk your egg yolks with a quarter of the sugar until pale, thick and custardy-looking – this takes about 5-6 minutes on a high speed. Set aside.

4. Melt your chocolate and butter over a bain-marie. Once melted, take off the heat and stir in the salt. Fold it into your whisked egg yolks in three additions.

5. Meanwhile, whisk your egg whites and the rest of the sugar to a French meringue.

6. Mix a little of the meringue in with your whisk to loosen the egg yolk/chocolate batter and then change to a spatula, folding the meringue into the chocolate mix in thirds, trying to keep as much air in as possible.

7. Pour half of the mix into the lined cake tin and smooth the top. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

8. The cake will rise up and be dry on top. Keep the other half of the batter to one side and cover with a tea towel or clingfilm to prevent it drying out. If possible, keep it near the oven so it stays warmish.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to fall and cool in the tin for approximately 20 minutes. It can still be warm, but you want to be able to handle the tin.

10. Sprinkle on the Sauternes-soaked raisins. Pour the second half of the batter on top and smooth with a warmed palette knife. Leave to cool to room temperature, then move into the fridge and leave overnight or up to 3 days.

11. To remove cleanly from the tin, freeze the cake for 30 minutes before demoulding.

12. To finish, carefully remove from the tin and dust thickly with cocoa powder. If you froze the cake, let it defrost for 20-30 minutes before enjoying it. This keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also store it in the freezer, wrapped, for 30 days.

Note

If you only have a hand mixer, I recommend splitting the mixture in two and making it twice – as it’s a large amount of meringue.

Nicola says: “The humble cheese scone is given the flaky treatment. The addition of rye flour and pickle chunks in the layers gives these scones a deli sandwich energy that would be welcome at any picnic. Working fast and having a light touch here is key for the flakiest scones possible.”

Makes 6 large scones

Equipment

• 6.5cm cutter

Ingredients

• 210g plain flour
• 30g dark rye flour
• 10g baking powder (about 2½ tsp)
• 4g flaky sea salt (about 1⅛ tsp)
• 2g black pepper (about 1 tsp)
• 100g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• 110g butter, very cold
• 75g pickled gherkins, drained and chopped
• 120g buttermilk (see Note)
• Egg wash

Method

1. Get all the ingredients everything cold. And I mean cold. If you have time, put your dry ingredients in the freezer for 20 minutes before mixing. Your butter must be fridge-cold and firm to the touch.

2. Add all the dry ingredients into a bowl, plus half the grated Cheddar cheese.

3. Cut the butter into 2cm cubes. Using the paddle attachment or your fingertips, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients, along with the chopped gherkins for about 30 seconds. Only go so far that the butter is in irregular-sized pieces. You need some larger bits of butter to get the layers later.

4. Now, add the buttermilk in a steady stream and mix until it is looking just hydrated – there can still be dry bits.

5. Tip onto a clean surface and push together, scraping all the dry bits into the middle.

6. Roll to approximately 40cm long, sprinkle over half of the leftover cheese and perform a single fold – that’s when you bring the top down two-thirds and then the bottom over the middle third, like a business letter!

7. Turn 90 degrees and roll to 40cm long, then sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and perform another single fold. Use a knife or a bench scraper to cut the folded edge – this will give you the best layers possible.

8. Pat the dough into a rectangle around 2.5-3cm high. Trim the edges (you can bake these as snack scraps!) and pat down slightly to get the dough back into proportion. Cut into six large squares. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and put into the freezer for 15 minutes or the fridge for 45 minutes.

9. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.

10. Gently brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, if desired. Bake for 12-15 minutes (watch the colour), then turn the oven down to 190°C/170°C fan and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes until the scones are golden and well baked. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool, then serve warm.

Note

If you don’t have buttermilk, mix 115g whole milk with 5g white wine vinegar and then leave in the fridge to curdle for about 5 minutes. It will appear thickened but a bit split.