Baking can be such an intentional, calming ritual when it’s not completely chaotic and messy. I certainly always set out fully believing that whatever I’m baking will center and soothe me. I’ll cut soft chunks of butter, weighing each dollop carefully into a prep bowl. I sift flour, shaking it like I used to do with my moneymaker back in my 20s. Next, I’ll rain droplets of rich vanilla, shower salt so it’s dotted like wet sand on top of dried, and crack eggs and watch them slither down a floury landscape.

It’s all part of the meditative, soothing process of creating until I forget a vital ingredient (baking powder — oops) or realize that the oven is too hot. My first attempt at baking this cake ended horribly because I realized that somehow I don’t have any matching round cake pans to bake the layers, and ended up just using one very deep one instead. The cake didn’t bake all the way through, leaving me with pockets of lukewarm batter and a broken ego.

Have your baking fails ever completely ruined your day? Don’t give up!  I wanted to, but I forced myself to set out a second time using Smitten Kitchen’s strawberry chiffon cake as a starting point. I love chiffon cake because it’s lighter and fluffier than regular vanilla sponge cake. The secret is in whipped egg whites, which get folded in to a batter of egg yolks, oil and sugar at the very last minute to infuse air and structure into the cake. The egg whites act like a bike pump, inflating the cake batter and increasing the volume.

While my layers baked, I rummaged through the refrigerator to see how I’d top my cake. Out came whipping cream and mascarpone, an Italian soft cheese that’s like the sweeter cousin to cream cheese. We had a carton of fresh raspberries, which was an outright miracle because my kids eat them like candy. I never make raspberry desserts for this reason. Who has the patience for it when fresh raspberries are already so good on their own? I also found a languishing jar of Fortnum & Mason’s lemon curd. It was fate. My cake was making itself.

Luckily, my second attempt turned out much better than the first. The chiffon cakes came out golden brown and springy, ready to become their best selves. I triumphantly set them on wire racks to cool while whipping together the whipping cream and mascarpone. Assembling this cake is easier than it looks — just sandwich a thick layer of cream and fresh raspberries, then ice the whole thing.

Decorating this cake may look fancy, but it’s really just smashing raspberries throughout while you spread luxurious layers of mascarpone icing around and around the sides. If you have flowers laying around, then you’ve got an instant topper to make this chiffon cake really pop. And honestly, what’s keeping you from pouring yourself a nice glass of bubbly, slicing into this cake, and watching the most over-the-top Netflix show you can?

Nothing, I say. Absolutely nothing.

Don’t forget:

• 6 Genius Baking Tricks
• Naked Peach and Rosemary Cake
• Apple Hummingbird Cupcakes
• Cast Iron Swirl Brownie