CUTS INTO 14-16 SLICES. HANDS-ON TIME 1 HOUR 20 MIN, OVEN TIME 35-40 MIN, PLUS COOLING AND CHILLING
Leftover cake can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Substitute the mango jelly with a passion fruit or citrus curd, if you like.
• 190g white chocolate, chopped
• 250g unsalted butter, cubed and softened
• 220g caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 medium free-range eggs
• 400g self-raising flour
• 250ml buttermilk, at room temperature
• 300g mascarpone
• 300ml double cream
• 80g icing sugar, sifted
FOR THE MANGO JELLY (SEE TIP)
• 250g ripe mango flesh (about 1 mango)
• 2 gelatine leaves (we used
Costa Fine Leaf, from Waitrose and Ocado)
• 55g caster sugar
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE ICING
• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g icing sugar, sifted
• 400g full-fat cream cheese, softened
YOU’LL ALSO NEED…
• Stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; 3 x 18cm round cake tins, greased and lined with compostable baking paper; mini food processor or blender; piping bag fitted with 2cm plain nozzle
1 Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water; see box over the page). Once melted, stir briefly, then leave to cool. Put the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until thick and pale. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the cooled chocolate, then add the flour and buttermilk in 2 batches, beating briefly each time until smooth.
2 Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ gas 4. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared tins and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 30 minutes, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
3 For the mango jelly, put the mango flesh in a mini food processor/ blender and whizz until smooth. Set aside. Put the gelatine in a small bowl with just enough cold water to cover and set aside for 5 minutes to soften. Put the 55g sugar in a small pan with 3 tbsp water over a low heat and bring to a low simmer to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, then squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and stir into the syrup until dissolved. Stir the gelatine syrup into the mango purée. Chill for 15 minutes until set (see tip).
4 For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar until smooth and light, then gradually beat in the cream cheese until smooth.
5 To assemble, put 1 cooled cake on a cake stand. Stir the mascarpone to loosen, then put into the piping bag and pipe 2-3 tbsp over the top of the cake, spreading it into a thin layer with a knife. Use a little mascarpone to pipe a border around the top edge of the cake, then spoon half the mango jelly evenly over the centre of the cake. Top with the second cake, repeat the mascarpone and jelly layers, then top with the third cake.
6 Spread a very thin layer of cream cheese icing over the top and sides of the cake to seal in the crumbs. Chill for 20 minutes until set, then coat the cake with the remaining cream cheese icing, leaving it thin on the sides for a ‘naked’ effect. Chill until ready to serve.
7 To serve, whisk the cream and icing sugar together until they form billowy peaks, then pile most of the cream on top of the cake, serving any remaining cream alongside.