I made this cake for my workshop with carole poirot, It has grated apple and butternut squash with blackberries and is frosted with mascarpone cream. the theme of our workshop was late summer vibes so I wanted to use produce that was seasonal. I love using vegetables in cakes, and because I baked the sponge at home and traveled to London with it I wanted a sponge that had a lot of moisture and that wouldn’t dry out, so vegetables are great for that. I love this time of year, the fruit and vegetables have so much colour.

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 1 cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 2 cups grated squash
• 1 1/2 cups grated apple
• 1 cup blackberries

preheat the oven to 160c and grease and line 4 11cm tins, whip the eggs and sugars together until pale, then in a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and cinnamon. turn the mixer down to low and add 1/4 of the melted butter, then add 1/4 of the flour and continue adding alternating between the two, once combined fold in the grated squash and apple, then toss the blackberries in a little flour t coat them and fold them through and then separate the mixture into the four tins and level out and bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

for frosting

• 450g mascapone
• 400ml double cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar

whip the cream and icing sugar and add the mascarpone and mix until it holds its self (soft peaks) then put it into a piping bag, take a layer of sponge and put it on the cake stand and pipe on the filling then add the next layer and continue until all the layers are added. then decorate with some sliced apple and flowers.