Hailing from Auckland, June is an incredible culinary arts student. Like most people in lockdown, having an overwhelming amount of time on her hands allowed her to trial and test a variety of recipes and she fell in love with creating pastries despite her not-so-sweet tooth. The difference is, her creations didn’t start and stop at banana bread.

With an accumulating fanbase, cake orders started flowing in, and now, she works in film catering for Love Island in Byron Bay. It’s a show that I’m not really acquainted with but I hear there are lots of hot people in it and even more drama. And if you’ve seen June’s Instagram, you’d think she was a contestant (?). Do they win anything on the show? I don’t know. But you know what I mean. The point is, she’s a beautiful and talented young woman and I’m simply over the moon to be sharing her wonderful and tasty creations with you all.

June has shared with us a recipe that’s perfect for springtime picnics and birthdays. But since most of us are cooped up at home in our fat pants, it’s most likely that you’ll be eating these while watching Squid Game or… Love Island. It’s come full circle.

The recipe below features a soft and spongy vanilla base with juicy raspberries to give it that tartness. The berries can be substituted for any seasonal fruit that pairs well with vanilla. Atop the fluffy puffy sponge is a creamy yet light buttercream. You could probably eat the whole batch in one sitting.