Pimms Cake

Citrus fruit sponge cake with a Pimms syrup drizzle, filled with strawberry jam, and a mascarpone cream, topped with lots of fresh fruit

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 719kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponges

350 g Butter or baking spread
350 g Caster sugar
1 Orange zest only
1 Lemon zest only
1 Lime zest only
6 Eggs large
350 g Self raising flour

For the Pimms syrup

200 ml Pimms
65 g Caster sugar
3 tbsp Citrus fruit juice (use the fruit you zested for the cake)

For the filling

250 g Mascarpone
2 tbsp Icing sugar
2 tsp Vanilla extract
200 ml Double cream
200 g Strawberry jam

For the topping

Strawberries
Orange slices
Cucumber rolls or slices
Fresh mint

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line two 8" cake tins (that are at least 2" deep)
Make the sponge by mixing the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl, ideally using an electric mixer
Add the eggs and the orange, lime and lemon zest, and whisk until fully incorporated
Add the self raising flour and whisk in gently until you can't see any flour anymore
Divide the mixture between the two cake tins, using scales for accuracy if you like
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave them to fully cool either in the tins or on cooling racks
While it is baking, make the Pimms syrup. Put the Pimms, citrus juice and sugar in a pan, heat on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then boil it for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool
If the cakes have domed on top, level them off with a cake leveller
Then brush or drizzle the Pimms syrup onto each sponge
To make the filling, mix together the double cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar with an electric mixer until thick. Then fold in the mascarpone cheese
Put one of the sponges on your chosen cake stand or serving plate and pipe or spread some of the filling over it
Spread the strawberry jam over the cream filling
Top with the second sponge and pipe larger rosettes of the filling around the edge of the cake, then spread the rest into the middle
Arrange the strawberries, orange slices, cucumber rolls or slices and fresh mint leaves on top of the cake. To make the cucumber rolls, use a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of cucumber, then roll them up
Serve immediately, leftovers will keep for 1-2 days in the fridge

Notes

Make sure all of your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the cake as I think it gives the best results, but unsalted butter will work well too.
I used mascarpone cheese for the cream filling, but cream cheese will also work.
Instead of strawberry jam, you could use raspberry jam, or marmalade would also be yummy!
For best results, use an electric mixer to make this recipe.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition