Iced VoVoTM mini cakes

For the cakes:
• 180 g unsalted butter, soft but not oily, cut into roughly 6 cubes, plus extra 15 g for greasing
• 180 g flour, plus extra for dusting
• 180 g caster sugar
• 50 g ground almonds
• 1½ t baking powder
• ¼ t fine sea salt
• 3 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
• 50 ml full-cream milk, at room temperature
• 2 t sunflower or other neutral oil
• 1 t vanilla extract
For the jam:
• 350 g sour cherry (or other red) jam
• 1 t water
For the mascarpone:
• 100 g mascarpone
• 100 g thickened cream
• 50 g icing sugar, sifted
to finish
• 60 g desiccated coconut
• 12 fresh cherries

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, fan-forced. Brush 12 dariole moulds or a 12-hole muffin tin with the extra softened butter. Sprinkle a little of the extra flour in each mould or muffin hole, then rotate to ensure the base and sides are floured. Turn it upside down over a sink or bin and tap to remove the excess flour.

2. To make the cake batter, sift the flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, then add the butter. Beat at a low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture resembles large, wet crumbs.

3. Place the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract in a medium bowl or jug and whisk using a fork to combine. With the mixer on a low speed, add the egg mixture to the bowl and beat at a low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute, until the batter is smooth and light. Divide the batter evenly between the moulds or muffin holes, about 65 g each, then bake on the middle rack of the oven (if using dariole moulds, place them on a baking tray) for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean.

4. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before loosening the edges using a small palette knife. Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the muffin tin, then place a wire rack on top and invert to release the cakes. If the cakes were baked in individual moulds, invert and release the cakes one at a time onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Set aside for the cakes to cool completely. Trim to level the cakes if they have formed a dome (see preparation tip).

5. Meanwhile, combine 250 g jam and the water in a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat until the jam is warm and loosened. Using a sieve, strain the jam into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool completely.

6. To prepare the mascarpone cream, place the mascarpone, cream and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk at a low speed until combined (around 1 minute), scrape down the bowl, then increase the speed to medium and whip for around 2 minutes, until peaks form. Scrape the mascarpone cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1½ cm nozzle and refrigerate until needed.

7. To assemble, place the coconut in a small bowl. Brush the sides of each cake with the cooled jam then, working one at a time, roll the cakes in the coconut so that the sides brushed with jam are covered in the coconut.
8 Place the cakes on a serving plate and pipe a ring of mascarpone cream around the top of each sponge. Fill the space created by the ring with about 1 t of the remaining jam, then place a cherry on top.

Preparation tips

If the cakes have domed in the centre during baking, level the tops (which will become the base when they are inverted) so the cakes sit on the serving plate.

If you don’t have a piping bag to pipe the mascarpone cream around the edges of the cakes, use a Ziploc bag and snip one of the ends to create a hole for piping.

Find more cake recipes here

Extracted with permission from Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh is published by Murdoch Books, £26.00, www.murdochbooks.co.uk