Ingredients

• 225g/8oz unsalted butter
• softened
• plus extra for greasing
• 4 free-range eggs
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 2 level tsp baking powder
• 12 cardamom pods
• 100g/3½oz white chocolate
• broken into pieces
• 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
• softened
• 75g/2½oz cream cheese
• 200g/7oz icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• icing sugar and dove stencil
• to decorate (optional)

Directions

• Preheat the oven 180C/160C Fan/Gas4. Grease two 20cm/8in loose-bottomed sandwich tins and line with baking paper.
• Put the butter
• eggs
• sugar
• flour and baking powder in a large bowl and beat together (using an electric hand whisk if you have one) until well combined.
• Bash the cardamom pods with a rolling pin to release the seeds. Tip the seeds in a pestle and mortar and mash until fine. (Be sure to crush the cardamom seeds only
• not the pods as these do not tenderize down.) Stir the crushed seeds into the cake batter
• then pour the mixture into the tins.
• Bake for 25 minutes
• or until golden-brown and springy to the touch. Leave to cool for 5 minutes
• then run a small palette knife or rounded butter knife around the edge of the tins and carefully turn the cakes out onto a wire rack. Peel off the paper and leave to cool completely.
• For the icing
• gently melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water
• making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. (Do not overheat the white chocolate or it will not set.) Stir until runny
• then set aside to cool and thicken a little.
• Whisk the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy and soft. Add half the icing sugar
• whisk again
• add the vanilla and the remaining icing sugar and whisk again. Stir in the white chocolate until combined. Transfer to the fridge for about 20 minutes
• or until thickened to a spreading consistency.
• Slice each cake in half horizontally to give four thin sponges. Sandwich together with the icing and arrange on a cake stand so you have four layers of cake and three layers of icing
• leaving the top of the cake plain.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar
• using a decorative dove stencil if you have one.