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Sponge cake – basic recipe

For use with Current tart served with Crème de Cassis syrup and Cassata (Glazed fruit ice-cream cake with a fresh strawberry compote), and Strawberry cake with thick custard and a meringue and almond  topping.

The cake:
225 g/8 oz self-raising flour
½ level teaspoon/3 ml baking powder
225 g/8 oz castor sugar
225 g/8 oz unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
½ cup/125 ml milk and water mixed
1 large free-range egg
zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

The syrup: (optional)
3 tablespoons/45 ml castor sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon/15 ml Cointreau (or freshly squeezed orange juice)
50 g/1.8 oz unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/356°F.
Grease a cake pan of about 22 cm/8.6 in in diameter with a loose bottom, and then dredge all over inside with a mixture of flour and castor sugar.
Into a mixing bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in the sugar, egg, butter, milk and water and whisk together until the mixture forms a smooth batter.
Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until well risen and golden. Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the cake tin and (if using the syrup) prick it all over with a skewer. Spoon half the amount of syrup over, and use the rest to spoon on the plates when serving.

While the cake is baking, heat the sugar and lemon in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, then add the Cointreau (or orange juice). Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the sauce thickens.

STELLA's avatar

By STELLA

I have had no formal chef’s training. Classical piano was my parents’ choice, and that took care of the first 20 years of my life. Journalism and radio followed (my own choices, this time), and these opened many doors for me into different countries, people, cultures — and, of course, foods. In a six week series on radio I used it as a platform for my love of food and shared lots of interesting recipes and food news with listeners.
My earliest memories of food come from the family kitchen at home; I can still remember the wonderful smells of the dishes my mother prepared. I became aware of the flavors of her creations at an early age. Some I enjoyed and preferred, while others depressed me with their lack of interesting flavors. My mother was a good cook, but not a gourmet, and sadly this often showed. What I did appreciate was that she always involved me in the preparation, sharing her knowledge of nutrition, flavor, color, and the harmonies of each plate she dished up. She was also a genius with leftovers and quick meals when unexpected guests arrived. This is one of the things that stands out in my mind, and it inspired me to create wonderful dishes from leftover foods myself.

I carried on with the tradition of carefully planning meals to combine nutrition, color and flavor, while at the same time offering variety and elegant presentation. In the process, I developed a passion for seeking out the best available products, adhering to each season’s offerings, and treating it with the respect it deserves, which eventually became part of my daily culinary life and travels. I did these things not because I wanted to become a chef, but to satisfy myself, family and friends with creations of gorgeous food and exciting flavors. All of which, I hope, is reflected in this blog.

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