Happy Mothers Day!

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the UK and what better way to treat mum than to give her a day of relaxation, a constant supply of tea (or Prosecco if your mum is anything like mine!) and a slice of this irresistible Iced VoVo Cake with Pink Guava Jam?!!!

You’re probably wondering what an earth a VoVo is, just as I did when my Australian friend Michaela suggested this recipe to me. It’s not a brand of car, and NO, it is most certainly NOT a female body part! A VoVo is something wonderful, something that you NEED in your life, just as you do peanut butter, chocolate, freshly baked bread and french fries!

A VoVo is an Australian biscuit that is topped with pink icing, jam and a generous covering of desiccated coconut – I’m in love!!! But baking mum a biscuit for Mothers Day, albeit an extremely good one, seemed rather miserly, so I decided to bake a cake version of this iconic biscuit instead.

I must confess that I actually have an ulterior motive for making this recipe – and a rather selfish one at that. I NEED to satisfy my new food addiction – Awani Tropical Fruit Preserves from Bali. I recently discovered them at an exhibition in London and haven’t been able to stop scoffing the stuff since – on crumpets, toast, croissants, porridge, my fingers – I simply cannot get enough!

I’m currently speeding my way through the Pink Guava Jam, which is absolutely heavenly, so I decided to use it in place of boring raspberry jam, elevating my VoVo Cake into a fantastical tropical mouth explosion – your first bite will make you feel like re-creating that scene from the movie “When Harry Met Sally” – yes, it is really is that good! Selected flavours of Awani Jam are currently available from Selfridges in the UK.

Anyway, let’s get back to the task in hand – Iced VoVo Cake...

Before you start to make your cake, you’ll need to preheat the oven to 285°F and grease and line a rectangular or square cake pan with parchment paper. VoVo’s are traditionally rectangular, but I only have a 20cm square cake pan!

Place the self-raising flour, plain flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla essence in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric beater, beat the mixture on low speed for 30 seconds, or until the ingredients are just combined. Then beat at high speed for a further 1-2 minutes, until the mixture becomes thick and the butter is incorporated. 

Spoon the mixture into the cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Place the cake on the second lowest shelf of the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Set the cake aside to slightly cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool – it should take around 30 minutes.

It’s now time to turn your attention to the icing!

Place the butter and sifted icing sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add a couple of drops of food colouring, or just enough to tint the icing a pretty pastel pink. Now the clever bit – place the marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave for 30 seconds, or long enough to make them expand and melt. Using a spatula, transfer the melted marshmallows to the mixing bowl and beat until smooth. This gives the icing a wonderful taste and texture.

Spread the icing over the cooled cake, leaving a central strip in the middle for the jam.

Carefully fill the gap with the fruit jam, then add the final flourish and sprinkle generously with the desiccated coconut – yum!

Slice and serve to mum immediately with a hot mug of tea, a glass of champagne and a smile! And if there is any left over (which I very much doubt), it can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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