Citrus Spongecake With Dragonfruit Buttercream
Makes: 1 small 4-layered, 4"-inch cake
Keep it wonky, keep it messy ;)
Spring-tastic and rife with bright, seasonal flavours!
ingredients
GROUP A: SPONGE CAKE
1/4 cup neutral oil (I used vegetable oil)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk (don’t discard the white: use it to make meringues or a sour cocktail)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
4 drops orange bitters* (optional)
4 drops black lemon bitters* (optional)
4 drops lime bitters* (optional)
4 drops grapefruit bitters* (optional)
2 tsp fresh lime zest
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
GROUP B: BUTTERCREAM
1 yellow dragon fruit
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 - 3 medium sized strawberries
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
3 tbsp icing sugar
GROUP C: EVERYTHING ELSE
Passion fruit curd (recipe here)
Fresh flowers for decorating
Dehydrated citrus wheels, for decorating (recipe here)
*Note: Use of bitters is totally optional, but for reference, I used these by Scrappy’s Bitters.
method
Citrus cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking tray with parchment. Lightly oil and dust with flour. Whisk the oil, milk, vanilla, bitters, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the egg and egg yolk, and whisk well. Add the flour, salt, citrus zest, and baking powder and mix gently till the batter just about comes together. Be careful not to overmix. Pour the batter onto the prepared baking tray, making sure the batter has a height of less than a 1/4 inch. Bake for 15 minutes at first; a skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. Increase time if needed. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack for 25 - 30 minutes prior to cutting.
Buttercream: Halve the dragon fruit, scoop out the flesh, and purée it in a blender along with the strawberries. Heat up a small saucepan on medium heat and to this, add the fruit purée and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Stir continuously and keep cooking while the mixture gently bubbles. Do this till the mixture has reduced a bit (you should be left with about 1/3 cup worth of purée). Let the mixture cool down completely; you can stick it in the fridge to hasten this step. Once cooled, cream the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, till it is fluffy and pale. Then, add the vanilla, fruit purée, and the icing sugar and whisk the butter to form a smooth, creamy mixture (it will have a slightly “sticky” consistency due to the cooked dragon fruit, but that’s perfectly normal).
Assembly: Using a 3 - 4 “ cake ring, or a small bowl, cut out circles from the sheet cake. Coat the top of each layer with a dollop or two of buttercream, then add a teaspoon of the passion fruit curd, and swirl it around. Repeat for all layers. Use the rest of the buttercream to completely coat the cake from the outside. Decorate as you’d like with fresh flowers, petals, and some dehydrated citrus wheels. The cake can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
