Dean’s Victoria Sandwich with Red Berries and Cream

Dean’s Victoria Sandwich with Red Berries and Cream would be perfect to serve at a special afternoon tea. It comes from Cook: Food to Share by Dean Brettschneider with Jenna White and Helen Burge.

Cook: Food to Share was inspired by Dean’s fond memories of the good food and conversations around the family table each evening when he was growing up in rural New Zealand in the 1980’s. And the roast dinners his grandmother always cooked for the extended whanau every Sunday.

The more than 70 recipes in this cookbook are stylish but uncomplicated and were created to be enjoyed and shared with family and friends.

Dean resides in Denmark, Singapore and New Zealand. The recipes in this book, which are served up at his bakeries and taught at his cooking school, reflect his international taste in food. They include a Japanese vegan bowl, crispy pork belly with apple and rhubarb chutney, salmon gravlax with seed crackers and one-pot roast chicken.

He has built a reputation as one of the world’s best bakers. The berry and lemon cheesecakes, sticky date pudding and pavlova roulade with tropical salsa look divine! And then there’s this cake which would be a real showstopper!

DEAN’S VICTORIA SANDWICH WITH RED BERRIES AND CREAM

Serves 12

As a child growing up in New Zealand, Sundays would not have been the same for Dean without a slice of his grandmother’s Victoria sandwich. Although the ingredients are inexpensive and the recipe is straightforward, this cake stands tall and proud, and every bite will provide a taste of decadent nostalgia.

INGREDIENTS

100 g (31/2 oz) strawberry jam

2 punnets strawberries, hulled and sliced

6 cherries, stoned and cut into halves

6 raspberries

Icing sugar, as needed

SPONGE

280 g (10 oz) self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

280 g (10 oz) butter, softened

225 g (8 oz) castor sugar

5 eggs

CHANTILLY CREAM

500 ml (16 fl oz) fresh cream

2 Tbsp castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Prepare two 20-cm (8-in) round springform pans and line them with baking paper.

Prepare the sponge. Sift the flour with the baking powder and set aside. Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle and beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add the flour and beat for 1–2 minutes.

Pour the batter equally into the prepared springform pans and level the top.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes before unmoulding. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack before assembling.

Prepare the Chantilly cream. Place all the ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk to medium peaks. Refrigerate until needed.

To assemble, spread the jam on the top of one sponge. Cover with a layer of Chantilly cream, followed by a handful of chopped strawberries. Sandwich with the other sponge and press down lightly.

Spread the remaining Chantilly cream over the top sponge, then decorate with the remaining strawberries, cherries and raspberries. Dust with icing sugar.

Cook: Food to Share is by Dean Brettschneider with Jenna White and Helen Burge. Publisher Bateman. RRP 39.99

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