Berry Drenched Vanilla Buttercream Cake

FOR CAKE - Preheat your oven to fan bake 160°C and grease three 20cm round cake tins. In a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla paste until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites and beat for 4 minutes or until well combined and fluffy. Add the sour cream and mix until combined. Scrape down the side of your bowl to ensure everything is well combined. Whisk the flour, corn flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until just combined – it's recommended to do this by hand rather than use the mixer as it's easy to over mix. Add the milk and stir until just combined – make sure to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl and don't over mix. Divide evenly between the three pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tins and allow to completely cool before beginning to decorate.

FOR ICING - In a stand mixer, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy. While the mixer is running on a low speed, add the icing sugar a few tablespoons at a time. Add the vanilla, salt and cream and beat to combine – at this stage you can add food colouring if you want to make a coloured icing. Whip for two minutes on high.

FOR RASPBERRY COULIS - Heat the frozen raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot – bring to a boil. Mix the cornflour, vanilla and water to make a slurry. Remove pot from the heat and add the cornflour slurry. Add pot back to the heat and allow to thicken whilst stirring continuously. Once thickened, remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before use.

FOR DECORATION - Place your first cake layer on a cake board or stand. (Note: To stop cake from slipping around, you can put a little bit of icing down below the first layer). Use about a third of the icing and spread evenly across the cake. Press in your berries or whatever other add in you like. Smooth your icing layer to create an even level and spread on a layer of raspberry coulis. Place your next cake layer on. Repeat with steps 2 -3 with your next cake layer. Use the rest of your icing to completely coat the cake. Using an icing scraper, smooth the sides and the top if the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with fresh berries and raspberry coulis.