Oat Rasberetti Cake
Oat-based, nut-free ‘Sham-eretti’
Making this cake is entirely the same process as making my Rasberetti cake (link) only you’ll have to prepare your ground almond alternative in advance. Here I’ve used butter-toasted rolled oats because their nutty flavour is particularly delicious with the raspberries, as any one who’s ever eaten a cranachan will attest. You can use any of the other almond alternatives (link) that I tested the other week, just up the amounts from the test recipes listed in the original post so you have the right quantity. The almond extract is optional if you need to avoid all nut products, vanilla would be a good replacement or leave it plain and let the nutty oat flavour step into the spot light.
Makes one 7 inch cake.
Butter-toasted Rolled Oats:
225g rolled oats
90g cold water
70g salted or unsalted butter - dairy or plant based
• Add the oats to a frying pan over medium heat and trickle the water the grains and stir through.
• Add the butter and stir through the oats, coating them as it melts in the pan.
• Put a lid on and steam the oats for a few minutes to plump the grains slightly.
• Remove the lid and turn up the heat to toast the grains to a golden colour to give them a toasty nutty flavour and a golden colour. Keep them moving so they colour evenly.
• Blitz the toasted oats to a finer grain to give you texture closer to ground almonds. Use straight away or freeze until you need it.
CAKE INGREDIENTS:
Shamaretti Layers:
3 large egg whites or 120g of egg white from a carton)
2 pinches of salt
225g granulated sugar
280g butter-toasted oats
85g gluten free self raising flour (or 75g of gluten self raising)
2 tsp almond extract - if using
Cream Filling:
1 tbsp vanilla extract
250g Mascarpone
400g double cream
150g greek yogurt
30g sugar
Fruit:
350g frozen raspberries for the filling (you can use fresh if you have them)
2 tbsp amaretto or framboise or another liqueur you fancy
150g fresh raspberries for decoration
HOW TO:
• Line 2 baking sheets with non stick baking paper and draw two 7 inch / 18cm circles on one sheet and one on the other. These will be your guides for the cake layers.
• Add the egg whites to a large bowl with the salt and whip to stiff peaks.
• Add the sugar in about 5 goes and beat after each addition to make a glossy but relaxed meringue - it doesn’t have to hold any peaks after the sugar is added.
• Fold in the almond extract - if using.
• Add the oats and flour and fold through.
• Dollop 200g of the dough onto each 7 inch circle on the baking paper. Use the back of a wet spoon to smooth the dough out to fill the circles.
• You should be left with just over 100g of dough, use this to make 10 small shamaretti biscuits - dollop 10 teaspoons of dough in the leftover space on the baking trays, leaving space to spread.
• Bake the two trays in the middle of the oven at 140ºc for 30 minutes, you can swap them after 20 so they bake evenly.
• Leave the cake layers and the small shamaretti on the tray until they are completely cool.
• While they cool, make the cream filling. Break up the mascarpone in a large bowl and mix in the sugar and the vanilla. Add the cream and beat everything together until the cream thickens. Fold in the yogurt by hand.
• In another bowl add the frozen raspberries and pour over the liqueur (if using). The raspberries can be used frozen, there’s no need to defrost them first.
• To assemble, place one disc of shamaretti on your cake plate, spread a thin layer of the cream over then pipe a double wall of cream around the edge to contain the raspberries.
• Add half the frozen raspberries and then pipe over some more cream and spread to cover the fruit.
• Repeat the process with the next shamaretti layer and remaining half of the frozen raspberries.
• Top with the third shamaretti layer and cover it with a thicker layer of cream.
• Pipe a blobs of cream around the edge of the top layer and sit in them, alternately, the small shamaretti biscuits and the fresh raspberries.
• Fill the centre with the remaining fresh raspberries.
• Make this at least 2 hours before you want to serve the cake, you can stand for 2 hours at room temperature or 4 in the fridge.
• You can make all the component parts the day before (the shamaretti can§ be made several days in advance) and then you just have to assemble it on the day you want to eat it.
Tat x
