Vanilla Sponge Cake with Honey Cream Cheese & Blueberry Coulis Filling

Ingredients

Vanilla sponge (two layers)

  • 185 g unsalted butter, softened  
  • 185 g caster sugar  
  • 4 medium eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten  
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract  
  • 185 g self-raising flour, sifted  
  • 2–3 tbsp milk (to reach dropping consistency)  

Blueberry coulis

  • 300 frozen blueberries  
  • 50 g caster sugar (adjust to taste)  
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice  
  • 1½ tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp cold water 

Honey cream cheese Icing  

  • 250g cream cheese, softened  
  • 50 g unsalted butter, softened  
  • 4 tbsp runny honey (to taste)  
  • 50g icing sugar, sifted  
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract  
  • Pinch of salt 

To finish  Extra fresh blueberries or seasonal fruit 

Method: 

  1. Put the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries break down and release juice.
  2. Stir in the cornflour slurry and simmer 1–2 minutes more until it coats the back of a spoon.  
  3. Taste and add more sugar or lemon if needed. Cool completely, then chill. It will thicken further as it cools. (You can blend it smooth or leave it slightly chunky.)
  4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C/ 350 °F. Grease and line the bases of two 20 cm (8-inch) round sandwich tins.  
  5. Beat the butter and caster sugar until very pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time, adding a spoonful of flour if it looks like it might curdle. Beat in the vanilla.  
  6. Sift in the flour and fold gently with a large metal spoon or spatula until just combined. Add enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency.  
  7. Divide the batter evenly between the tins, level the tops, and bake for 18–22 minutes until golden, springy to the touch, and a skewer comes out clean.  
  8. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
  9. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the honey, icing sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until light and creamy. Taste and adjust honey or icing sugar for the balance you like (more honey = softer; more icing sugar = firmer). Chill briefly if it seems too soft to pipe. (I added food colouring to mine but this is optional)
  10. Place one sponge layer on a plate or cake stand. Pipe a ring of the honey cream cheese around the edges. Spoon a good amount of the cooled blueberry coulis in the center of the piped ring, this  will prevent the coulis running over the edges. 

11. Top with the second sponge. Pipe more of the cream cheese icing on top to cover the cake. Decorate with fresh blueberries and seasonal fruit of choice.