Dragon fruit sponge cake
1 hour 20 min
Dragon fruit won't win any awards for what it looks like on the outside, but the flesh makes a stunning cake and colourful icing. Some varieties have white flesh with black seeds. It's not very sweet, but has a nice texture. I used the juice to make a puree to swirl into the sponge cake mixture. Then I used more of it to make a pink icing for the cake.
Sandra Garth
3 people made this
Ingredients
Serves: 10
- Dragon fruit sponge cake
- 1 dragon fruit, peeled and cubed
- 200g self-raising flour
- 200g plain flour
- 300g white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 tablespoon salt
- 300g caster sugar
- 225g butter, softened
- 4 eggs
- 180ml milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons simple syrup, or to taste (optional)
- Dragon fruit cream cheese icing
- 120g cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 220g sifted icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (400g) vanilla buttercream style icing
Method
Prep:30min ›
Cook:35min ›
Extra time:15min cooling ›
Ready in:1hr20min
- Place dragon fruit flesh in a blender or food processor and puree. Transfer puree to a bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / Gas 3. Grease and flour two 20cm round cake tins.
- Sift self-raising flour, plain flour, 300g caster sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
- Beat 300g caster sugar and 225g softened butter together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time; beat until well combined.
- Combine milk, vanilla extract and almond extract together in a mug and set aside.
- Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, beating until just combined. Add 1/2 the milk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add remaining milk mixture and stir until mixed thoroughly. Add 120ml dragon fruit puree and very lightly swirl into the sponge cake mixture.
- Divide cake mixture evenly between the prepared cake tins.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted in the centre of a cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- Let cakes cool in the tins for 10 minutes; turn out onto greaseproof paper lined racks; cool cakes for 5 minutes more. Brush tops and sides of cakes with simple syrup.
- While cakes are cooling completely, beat cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until smooth. Add icing sugar slowly and beat for 3 minutes. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons dragon fruit puree, beating until combined and puree is completely incorporated.
- Place one cake layer top-side up on a serving plate; place strips of greaseproof paper under the edges of the cake to keep the plate clean. Spread approximately 1/2 the vanilla buttercream on top. Top with the second layer, bottom-side up, and lightly cover the top and sides with remaining vanilla buttercream.
- Apply dragon fruit cream cheese icing to the top and sides of the cake, leaving some of the vanilla buttercream showing through.
Dragon fruit:
Dragon fruit is also known as pitaya or pitahaya. It is an oval spiky, bright pink or yellow fruit of a cactus. Try to find pink-fleshed dragon fruit. White is more common, but the pink one gives the icing a nice pink hue.
