Preheat oven to 325°F.

Add the lemon zest and sugar to a large mixing bowl and rub the zest into the sugar for about 2 minutes. The sugar will resemble kinetic sand when you're done.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients - the sifted cake flour, baking powder & salt to the sugar/zest mixture and stir with a spoon to evenly distribute everything.

In a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients adding all the olive oil, sour cream and eggs. Whisk to break up the eggs and mix til smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the batter is smooth.

Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray and divide the batter equally among the 3 pans. You can also add a parchment circle to the bottom of the pan for added ease of removal.

Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 20-30 minutes or until the top of the cake spring back when touched or when a skewer comes out with only a few crumbs.

While the cakes bake, make the honey glaze. Add the hot water, honey and lemon zest to a heat-proof bowl and mix to incorporate. Set aside until the cakes are ready.

When the cakes are done allow them to cool slightly then, while still warm, poke with a toothpick or cocktail pick. Spoon the honey-lemon syrup over the top of the cake and down the edges while the cake is still warm. Repeat this with all three cake layers. Allow the cakes to continue to cool. If leaving overnight to assemble the next day, over the layers with plastic wrap.

Add the cold heavy whipping cream, confectioner's sugar & vanilla bean paste to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on high speed until it forms soft peaks. The peak formed at the end of whisk should flop over like a Santa hat when inverted.

Add all of the mascarpone cheese and whip until stiff peaks form and the whipped cream is smooth. This step should take less than a minute.

Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag affixed with a piping tip if using.

Pipe another circle in the center of the cake and then a single dollop in the center. It should resemble a target. Fill the gaps in with your raspberry preserves.

Repeat steps 1 & 2 with a second cake layer.

Add your last cake layer on top. I like to invert this one so the perfectly flat bottom is now the top of the cake. This makes it easier for you to spread an even layer of the whipped cream that looks crisp!

Skip this step if you want to forego the piped rosettes on top. Using a rosette tip, pipe some rosettes in a a crescent pattern on top of the cake. For the prettiest results, vary the size and pattern.

Place your fresh raspberries wherever you like on top of the cake and add your herb leaves next to them.

Slice and enjoy! Because of the whipped cream, this cake does need to be refrigerated if it won't be served immediately but since this is an oil-based cake it will be soft even if served cold!