RASPBERRY AND LYCHEE MUD CAKE

INGREDIENTS

2 packets white chocolate mud cake mix (or you can buy pre-made mud cakes)
500g – 560gm can lychees (drained but reserve liquid to make the lychee syrup)
2 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch salt
2 punnets fresh raspberries
5 x Gingernut biscuits, crumbled 

Lychee Buttercream Frosting

250gm unsalted butter
3 ½ cup icing sugar sifted
2-3 tbsp lychee juice 

NOTE: Can substitute with store-bought vanilla icing 

Filling

1 jar lemon curd (store-bought is fine)
¼ cup freeze dried raspberries, or even frozen ones will do

METHOD

Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins. 

Preheat oven according to instructions on your cake mix.

Drain the lychees, reserving the liquid for later.

Prepare your white chocolate mud cake according to instructions on the packet

Pour cake mix into the prepared cake tins and bake according to instructions.

Allow your cake to cool on a wire rack before removing from the tin.

Place in fridge to set for another 2 hours, or overnight is even better.

While waiting for cakes to cool, place lychee liquid and brown sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-8min and don’t leave it alone!

Turn off your heat and let it cool.

To make frosting, get a stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat the cubed room temp butter until it’s light yellow (about 5mins).

Add the icing sugar a few spoonfuls at a time while still mixing. When half of your icing sugar is mixed in, add 2tbsp of lychee juice.

Continue to add the icing sugar, continuing to beat it each time until thoroughly mixed through. 

If the mixture is too thick, add the third tablespoon of lychee juice. 

Now to piece it all together! Get your cakes out of the fridge and see if there’s any raised or bumpy bits. If so, flatten them out by using a sharp knife to shave them down. 

Grab your cake stand of choice. Place a little dollop of frosting in the middle of your cake stand to keep your cake in place.

Now place your first cake on the cake stand. Using a skewer, make little holes all the surface and spoon a couple of teaspoons of lychee syrup over the cake.

Don’t add too much or it will go soggy!

Spoon out the lemon curd on the top of your first cake, using as little or as much as you like.

Using the back of your spoon, smooth it out over the surface so you have a lovely lemony layer of curd.

Now sprinkle your freeze dried raspberries over the lemon curd.

Repeat the skewer hole trick and pop some syrup on the second layer of the cake before placing it on top to create your top layer.

Place your second cake on top, being careful not to sandwich it too much as you don’t want to lose the height of the cake.

Using an offset spatula, start to smooth over your buttercream frosting putting a little more in the centre parts of the cake to even out the sides of the cake. I prefer to scrape it really thin so it has a “nude” look to the cake.

Top the cake with more buttercream frosting (slightly thicker than the sides)

Now topple out your fresh raspberries and dot some of the leftover whole lychees among  the bright red raspberries. I like to tear the lychees so they have a pretty shape and place them around the top of the cake.

Finish with the crumbled gingernut biscuits.