Love Buns In Cake Form

Our answer

Nigella's Love Buns (from FEAST) are vanilla sponge cakes topped with a marshmallow style icing, also known as 7 minute frosting. The quantity of batter in the recipe is, we estimate, only enough to make one layer of a sponge layer cake, unless you want the layers to be very thin. So for a 3 layer cake you are likely to need 3 times the recipe quantities. And for this amount you will need to bake the sponge layers in 3 x 20cm (8-inch) greased and lined cake pans at 180C/160C Fan/350F for 20-25 minutes, until the cakes are risen, firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.

A sharp filling, such as a lemon curd or Nigella's Passionfruit Curd, would go well with the frosting. Nigella's Toasted Marshmallow And Rhubarb Cake has a sharp filling and a similar frosting. The quantity of frosting in the recipe should be enough to frost the top and sides of the cake modestly. Use the frosting as soon as it is ready as it sets quickly and the cake will be at its best if eaten within 2 hours of frosting. Leftovers should be refrigerated and eaten within 24 hours. Please note that this frosting contains only partially cooked eggs so may not be suitable for those with a weakened immune system.