Let Her Eat Cake: Berry Pavlova Cake

You'll probably have noticed that it's gone all rainy. We do not approve of this at DS HQ. Not one bit. So, in defiance of the weather, we've decided to cheer ourselves up with a good slice (or two) of Berry Pavlova Cake. It's a bit more involved than some cakes, so it's perfect for making on a rainy afternoon. And all that lovely fruit and sugar makes it taste of summer, even if summer seems to have done a runner for the moment.

This is even better than a regular pavlova because first, there's a cakey bit in the middle (and we all love cakey bits); second, it uses both the whites and the yolks of the eggs so there's no waste; and third, the aforementioned cakey bit stops the cream from dissolving the meringue. This means you can make it ahead rather than having a last minute pavlova panic. It also keeps for a couple of days in the fridge.

Berry Pavlova Cake

You'll need:

• 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 4 eggs, separated 
• 100g + 200g caster sugar 
• 125g plain flour 
• 1/2tsp vanilla extract 
• 6tsp milk 
• 150ml whipping or double cream 
• A couple of handfuls of fresh strawberries and raspberries, washed, destemmed and roughly chopped 

Make it! 

• Preheat the oven to 200c / 180c fan / Gas mark 6 
• Grease and line two eight inch sandwich tins 
• Mix the egg yolks, 100g of the sugar, the butter and flour in a food mixer. 
• Beat in the vanilla and milk. 
• Split the batter between the two sandwich tins. There will only be a thin layer. 
• Now clean your mixing bowl thoroughly, before whisking the egg whites with the remaining 200g of sugar until it forms a shiny and stiff meringue mixture. This is the point where you should be able to hold the bowl upside down over your head and it won't ruin your hairdo. 
• Spread the meringue over the layer of cake batter in the two sandwich tins. 
• Bake them for 20-25 minutes, until the meringue is slightly golden and the sponge layer is cooked through. 
• To assemble, turn out one of the cake layers upside down onto a plate. The meringue should be at the bottom, then the sponge. 
• Whip the cream, then stir through the fruit. 
• Spread the cream mixture onto the bottom layer of cake. Now turn out the other cake layer and put it on top with the meringue uppermost. You should have meringue, cake, cream, cake, meringue.
• Devour and think of summer.