Makes an 18 cm (7 inch) cake
For the cake:
- 250 g butter, softened, plus a little extra for the tin
- 200 g raw sugar
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 tsp ground vanilla
- 1½ tbsp red food colouring
- 500 g spelt flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 150 ml milk
- 50 ml cranberry juice (or use milk)
For the frosting:
- 500 g cream cheese
- 120 g icing sugar
- 200 ml single cream
- 100 g dried cranberries
- Cranberries and rosemary, for garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Butter an 18 cm (7 inch) springform cake tin.
Whisk the butter, raw sugar and salt until foamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue whisking until creamy, then stir in the food colouring. Combine the spelt flour and baking powder and gradually fold into the butter and egg mixture, alternating with the milk and cranberry juice.
Pour the batter into the tin. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven for 1 hour. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
For the frosting, put the cream cheese in a bowl. Sift the icing sugar on top and mix well. Whip the cream until stiff, then fold it into the mixture.
Carefully halve the cooled cake horizontally to make two layers.
Spread the bottom half with half of the frosting. Arrange the dried cranberries on top, then replace the top cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake. Garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary, if desired.
Recipe adapted from Advent: Recipes and crafts for the countdown to Christmas by Kerstin Niehoff and Laura Fleiter (£12.99, Murdoch Books). Photography by Kerstin Niehoff.