Ruby Bhogal went from architecture to baking via The Great British Bake Off. She writes regular food columns and a hugely popular weekly newsletter called The Last Bite. rubybhogal.substack.com @rubybhogal

Cardamom & raspberry cake with white chocolate & pistachio

This is the cake I would always make when I first started baking because a) the flavour combo is bomb dot com and b) I really thought I was doing something new and inventive out here with the ingredients. Turns out I was just reinventing the cake wheel, but sometimes a classic combo is all you truly need. This is such a crowd-pleasing cake. The lightly spiced sponge works incredibly well with the tartness from the fresh raspberries, sweetness from the whipped white chocolate cream, and nuttiness from the pistachio crumb. I have never had a complaint from anyone who’s gobbled this cake.

SERVES 8 PREP 1 hr plus cooling COOK 38 mins MORE EFFORT V

coconut oil, for the tins
260g unsalted butter or baking margarine, at room temperature
260g golden caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
50g soured cream, brought to room temperature
1 ½ tsp ground cardamom
275g self-raising flour, sifted
1 batch simple vanilla syrup (see recipe, below)

For the filling

400g raspberries1 tsp caster sugarsqueeze of lemon juice50g pistachios, blitzed to a crumb