Serves: 10-12Aimee Gillett from Wellington's Charlie & Cake created this delicious cake for Cuisine's 25th birthday.

STEP ONE - Raspberry & rhubarb compote
825g rhubarb, trimmed, washed, cut into 2cm pieces
450g raspberries (frozen or fresh)
250g sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Combine the rhubarb, raspberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rhubarb is very soft. Set aside to cool then stir to blend the raspberries into the rhubarb. You want a thick, pouring consistency – if it seems too runny, drain off some of the liquid. Reserve the compote.




STEP TWO - Espresso cake
375g unsalted butter, softened
710g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used Equagold)
120ml prepared black coffee (I used instant coffee)
8 egg whites
660g flour
61⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
410ml buttermilk
155ml milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter and line 2 x 25cm-diameter cake tins.
Beat the butter in a free-standing electric mixer until pale then add the sugar and continue to beat for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla then beat for a further minute. Pour in the coffee and beat well to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add one-quarter of the egg whites to the butter mixture and beat on a low speed until just combined then repeat three times with the remaining egg whites.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk and milk. Beat half the flour mixture and half the milk mixture into the butter mixture. Add the remaining flour and milk mixtures and beat gently.

Divide the cake mixture evenly between the 2 cake tins. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the centres spring back when pressed gently. You may need to cook the cake in the lower position in the oven for slightly longer.

Remove from the oven and place the cakes, still in their tins, on wire racks to cool.




STEP THREE - Caramelised hazelnuts
You’ll need sheets of old newspaper, Sellotape and 20-30 wooden skewers to make these.

20-30 whole hazelnuts
450g sugar

Insert the pointed end of a wooden skewer into the side of each hazelnut.

Place newspaper on the kitchen floor below the bench where you’ll put the hazelnuts to dry and fill a large bowl with iced water.

Place the sugar and 115ml water in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Don’t stir – swirl the saucepan to help the sugar dissolve and use a wet pastry brush to brush down the sides of the saucepan occasionally, to prevent the sugar from crystallising.

Once the mixture begins to boil, keep a close eye on it until it turns an amber colour. Immediately remove from the heat and place the base of the saucepan in the iced water.

Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes then remove from the water.

Dip a hazelnut skewer into the caramel. Allow the excess to drip off then attach the other end of the skewer to the benchtop with tape, allowing a long sugar string to develop.

Repeat with the remaining hazelnuts. If the caramel begins to harden before all the hazelnuts have been coated, reheat gently over low heat. Let the hazelnuts dry for at least 10 minutes. Use scissors to trim the sugar strings before carefully removing the hazelnuts from the skewers.




STEP FOUR - Italian meringue
160g egg whites (about 5 egg whites – a medium egg white weighs around 30g)
320g caster sugar

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and begin to beat them on medium speed.

Meanwhile, place the sugar and 125ml water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, without stirring, swirling the saucepan and using a wet pastry brush to brush any sugar crystals down the sides. Increase the heat to high and continue to boil until the mixture reaches 110°C (if you don’t have a sugar thermometer, you can test if it has reached the right stage by dropping a little bit of the boiling sugar into a bowl of iced water, then rolling it between your thumb and finger. If you get a soft ball, it’s the correct temperature; if you get a hard ball then it has been cooked for too long, so it pays to check the sugar regularly once it’s boiling).

Increase the speed of the electric mixer to high and beat until the egg whites form soft peaks then slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream, whisking continuously for 10 minutes until the meringue has cooled and is thick and glossy. Use the meringue within 30 minutes of preparing.




STEP FIVE - To assemble
Remove the cakes from their tins and cut each one in half through the centre so you have 4 thin discs.

Place 1 of the bottom cake layers on a serving plate then spoon one-third of the fruit compote on top. Spread the compote evenly over the cake, going right to the edge. Repeat twice with the remaining cake discs and compote, building up the cakes as you go and finishing with a plain top layer of cake.

STEP SIX - To ice
Beginning with the sides of the cake, use a palette knife to apply the meringue, smoothing it as you go. Place a generous dollop of meringue on top of the cake, using a spoon to create swirls.

Once you’re happy with the look of the meringue, place the caramelised hazelnuts on top, with the sugar spikes upright.










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