Raspberry Cream Sponge Cake With Lemon Verbena
This raspberry cream sponge cake is a taste of summer and a highlight of any garden party. It’s a classic victoria sponge, but baked with scented leaves to impart an air of added sophistication and delight. Two sponges are sandwiched together with crushed raspberries and rose flavoured cream. It’s very hard to resist.
What’s Lemon Verbena?
Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) has the most glorious lemon sherbet scented leaves. Of all the lemon scented plants, it’s our absolute favourite. It’s a deciduous shrub originating from Chile and Argentina, but it’s not really frost hardy. This means it’s best grown in a pot, so it can be moved to a protected environment during the winter.
We’ve tried to grow it a couple of times, but back in Cornwall, we had nowhere to nurture it in the colder months. Both survived for a couple of years, but in the end gave up. Now we have a conservatory, so we’re trying again. Third time lucky.
This raspberry cream sponge cake is lightly flavoured with lemon verbena. I’ve used an old method, devised when the wide variety of ingredients weren’t as available as they are now. The idea is to bake your cake with scented leaves on the bottom of the tin, underneath the batter. This then infuses the cake with their aroma.
We regularly make a refreshing tisane from the leaves, but lemon verbena has other culinary uses. It makes a wonderful flavour addition to stewed fruit, ice cream and various savoury items. Lemon and rose scented geraniums also work well for this method of cake baking. You can, however, grate in a little lemon zest to the cake batter if you don’t have access to scented leaves.
How to Make a Classic Sponge
A classic sponge is made by weighing the eggs and then using that measurement for the butter, sugar and flour. Hooray, you can make your sponges as big or as little as you like, depending on how many eggs you use. I went for a mini sponge this time, as there are just the two of us. We’re both greedy and would probably eat a lot more in one sitting if I’d made a bigger one. And in any case, I only had one egg.
If ever you need a failsafe sponge recipe that you can carry in your head, this is the one. The only things you need to think about are the size of your cake tins and baking times.
Raspberry Cream Sponge Cake
This raspberry cream sponge cake, came together, as my recipes often do, from a kitchen clear out. I’d bought some raspberries for a morning smoothie, but had failed to finish them off. I also had an egg that had been hanging around for a bit too long. As regular readers probably know by now, I can’t abide waste. I needed to use that egg and polish the raspberries off.
This classic Victoria sponge cake is very easy to make. You just need to cream the butter and sugar together, beat in the egg, then mix in the flour. I used cardamom sugar for this recipe as it gives a subtle citrus note which goes particularly well in fruity bakes. I guess I probably didn’t need it this time as I was using lemon verbena leaves, but hey!
The cake mixture also needs something to loosen it slightly. I used kefir as it helps the wholemeal spelt flour to rise. But you can equally well use buttermilk or sour milk.
Once the sponges are baked, it’s a simple process of crushing the raspberries and whipping some double cream. I love the flavour combination of raspberries and rose, so I’ve added a drizzle of rose syrup to both the crushed raspberries and whipped cream.
Dust the top of your raspberry cream sponge cake with icing sugar. Then, if you like, scatter with additional raspberries and rose petals to make a luxurious summer centre piece.
No Rose Syrup?
Rose syrup is ever so easy to make. All you need is access to unsprayed scented roses. I make it every year and would be lost in summer without it. If you can source a rose or two, follow my recipe for rose syrup and delight all your friends and family.
If you can’t get hold of any suitable roses, however, just leave it out. The rose is only a subtle flavour addition to the raspberry cream sponge cake and it will be differently delicious with or without it. Just substitute a little icing sugar for the rose syrup.
Other Fresh Raspberry Cake Recipes You Might Like
- Cupcakes with rose curd
- Cupcakes with white chocolate
- Fudge brownies
- Poppy seed & white chocolate muffins (lactofree)
- Rose & white chocolate cake
- Rose friands
- White chocolate blondies
- White chocolate friands
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this raspberry cream sponge cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Raspberry Cream Sponge Cake. PIN IT.
Raspberry Cream Sponge Cake – The Recipe
Raspberry Cream Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 1 large egg (weighing around 50g)
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 50 g golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar)
- 50 g wholemeal spelt flour
- ⅓ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- lemon verbena leaves or other scented edible leaves
- 75 g raspberries plus additional for decoration if desired
- 75 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 2 tsp rose syrup (can substitute for icing sugar)
- icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- First of all, weigh your egg (s). Then use the exact same weight for your butter, sugar and flour. If you use more than one egg, you’ll need to double, triple or quadruple the quantities of baking powder, kefir, rose syrup, raspberries and cream accordingly.1 large egg
- Butter and line your baking tins, or use silicone moulds. The size will depend on how many eggs you’re using. For a one egg cake, two round 10 cm moulds or tins work well.
- Place the verbena leaves on the bottom of the tins.lemon verbena leaves
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.50 g unsalted butter, 50 g golden caster sugar
- Beat in the egg. If it curdles, just work in a bit of the flour and it should come together.
- Sieve in the flour and baking powder, throwing any bran left in the sieve into the compost bin. You don’t have to do this, but its quite nice to not have any large bit in a light cake I find.50 g wholemeal spelt flour, ⅓ tsp baking powder
- Stir until just combined, then stir in the kefir, buttermilk or sour milk. Divide the mixture between the two tins and spoon the top of the verbena leaves.2 tsp kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 15 minutes for this one egg cake or until risen, golden and firm to the touch. For a two egg cake, bake for 20-25 minutes, a three egg cake, 30-35 minutes and a 4 egg cake 40-45 minutes. Leave in the tins to cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. At this point you can peel off the scented leaves.
- Crush the raspberries in a bowl with the back of a fork. Stir in 1 tsp of the rose syrup.75 g raspberries
- Whip the cream with the other tsp of rose syrup until soft peaks form.75 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- If the sponges are too domed, level one of them off with a knife so it sits flat on a plate. Spoon on the crushed raspberries, followed by the cream. Place the remaining sponge on top and dust with icing sugar.icing sugar for dusting
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this raspberry cream sponge cake with Apply to Face Blog for Baking Crumbs. It also goes to Mummy Mishaps for #BakeOfTheWeek, JibberJabberUK for #LoveCake and Easy Peasy Foodie for #CookBlogShare.
I have never had lemon verbena but really want to try it and your delicious sponge cake now! Would be great for Valentine’s Day too:-)
Yes, my heart shaped moulds are brilliant for Valentine’s day and a cake just for two. The scent of lemon verbena is really quite astonishing.
This is absolutely stunning, Choclette. You know I love rose in desserts and this, together with lemon verbena, just takes it to a fragrant high! Yes, I discovered that our verbena (French verveine) plants weren’t that hardy after the frost hit and lost most of my first bush but luckily I’ve learned now from the mistake. In France we mainly use it as a nightime herbal infusion but I love to make ice cream with it!
Thank you Jill. I think we’re both on a mission to spread the love or rose. We drink lemon verbena as an infusion too, though mostly as a refreshing daytime drink, rather than a nighttime one. I bet that ice cream is good.
Such an elegant looking cake with beautiful flavors!
Thank you Anna. It’s such an easy straightforward sort of cake to make and with just one or two embellishments, it transforms into something else.
I should really grow some lemon verbena, then I would have access to it. Such an amazing smell and I love how you have baked it into the cake, lovely
It has such a wonderfully uplifting scent. Definitely worth growing if you’re able to.
What a gorgeous cake. Loving the idea of lemon verbena leaves in the cake. Such a perfect summer cake with lovely delicate flavors.
Yes, using scented leaves is a bit of an underused method, but well worth it for comparatively little effort.
I love your blog, Choclette – you are always cooking with fabulous unusual ingredients – I have heard of lemon verbena, but never knowingly eaten or cooked with it – now I’d really like to try it! Beautiful cake too 😀 Eb x
Thanks Eb.It’s the unusual, underlooked and unexpected that I find particularly intriguing when it comes to food. It’s worth having a lemon verbena plant for the scent alone. It’s wonderful.
This looks incredible! Raspberry sponge sounds too good to be true. Save me a slice.
The trouble with something as delicious and summery as this, is that it doesn’t last very long 😉
Sounds lovely. Such a nice summery flavour combination.
Yes, it’s just perfect for summer. But now I feel like I need to host a summer party so I can make a large one.
Such a pretty looking cake! I don’t think I’ve tried lemon verbena before but it sounds lovely!
Lemon verbena is delicious. At least it is if you’re used to drinking fresh herb teas 😀
What a delicate and beautiful recipe. I love that you have cleverly crafted all these wonderful ingredients to come together in this cake. Each mouthful must be a taste sensation. Adore your sponge tins too! Thank you so much for sharing with #BakingCrumbs
Thanks Jenny. You always say the nicest things. Love the simplicity of just adding leaves from the garden to flavour bakes.
Such a pretty cake, this would be perfect for Valentine’s Day or any romantic occasion!
Yes, my little heart shaped cakes are definitely just for two. But the beauty of this kind of cake is that it can easily be scaled up.
Glad your lemon verbena is flourishing – it looks very pretty at the bottom of the cake and would look great as a garnish! I like the sound of the crushed berries instead of jam
Well, we’re hoping it will flourish. We only got it fairly recently, which is why the leaves are a little on the small side. Crushed berries are the way to go for a summer cake I reckon.
Hi Choclette,
My name is Alice from the blog team at Thompson & Morgan.
I’ve tried to email you about featuring your blog on the Thompson & Morgan blog, but the email keeps bouncing back.
Mind dropping me a quick message so we can continue the chat there.
All the best,
Alice
Thanks for getting in touch Alice. I’m ever so sorry about my e-mail. I’m not sure why it’s being problematic. I’ve just e-mailed you now, so hopefully that will have got through.
How pretty is this cake?! I absolutely love the mini version, Victoria sponge is brilliant when it comes to scaling it up and down! Great tip for baking with scented leaves too, I would have not thought of that! Thank you for sharing your gorgeous cake with #BakingCrumbs 🙂
Hi Jo. It’s amazing what a few rose petals can do. But yes, you’re right, a Victoria sponge is good in so many ways.
What a summer delight! Perfect for a pretty afternoon tea for two.
Thanks Ness, it’s absolutely perfect for that. Especially now summer has actually arrived.
What a beautiful cake! I love the idea of using lemon verbena leaves in the sponge cake…unique and delicious.
That lemon verbena is just brilliant and it imparts such a lovely sherbet notes into the sponge.
This looks absolutely delicious and so adorable! I’ve never tried lemon verbena but I’ll definitely keep on the lookout for a plant now!
It’s a lovely plant to have Hannah, so do try and get hold of one if you can.
What a beautiful elegant cake! Very sophisticated flavours.
Haha, you know me Galina, I’m all about the sophistication 😉