Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. With a mixer or whisk beat the butter, vanilla and sugar until very soft, pale & creamy. Mix in each egg on slow until fully incorporated.
Gently mix in flour and baking powder until just combined – don’t over mix!
Grease and line each tin, then weigh in the batter and level them off –
2 x 4″ round cake tin with 200g batter
2 x 6″ round cake tin with 350g batter
2 x 8″ round cake tin with 600g batter
Bake for 25-35 minutes until cooked through, light and springy, then turn them out and leave to cool.  Trim any humps and level them to the same height.
Sandwich a generous layer of frosting and jam between each pair of sponges and put each layer on a cake board the same size as the tiers.
Spread frosting around the sides and top to crumb-coat, neaten off and chill for 30 minutes.
Apply another layer of frosting al over and neaten it with a palette knife or side scraper. Sprinkle chocolate vermicelli and freeze-dried raspberries around the bottom of each layer and chill for another 30 minutes.
Insert cake dowels in the 8″ and 6″ layers and stack the layers, using a little bit of buttercream to help them stick. Melt the dark chocolate and use it to decorate with a drop effect.
Add any decorations that you wish – fresh raspberries, macarons, edible flowers are among our favourites.