This recipe makes a flat sponge which is sandwiched together with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. I’ve used the recipe for my book Food Preparation Task
Serves 6
Ingredients
3 eggs
100 g caster sugar
100 g self raising flour
40 g raspberry jam
250 ml double cream whipped
200 g raspberries + 1 fresh fig
Sugar for dusting
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C/ Gas 6.
- Line a cake tin 20 x 30 cm with baking parchment paper.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar for about 10 minutes until the mixture is thick and creamy and you can leave a trail in the mixture. This forms a foam.
- Sieve in the flour and fold in gently with a metal spoon.
- Spoon into the tin and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and the cake springs back to touch.
- Leave the cake to cool on a wire rack. When cool, cut in half.
- Make the filling – whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and stir in 20g icing sugar.
- Mix the cream with a few raspberries.
- Fill the middle of the cake with some of the cream and raspberries.
- Warm the jam and brush over the top of the cake.
- Decorate the top of the cake with the rest of the cream, sliced fig and the raspberries. Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.
The science bit – see my Food Science You Can Eat book
Eggs and sugar whisk to a foam. Albumen is the protein in the egg and this extends and traps the air bubbles.
On heating the air expands and pushes up the egg, sugar and flour mixture.
Flour contains gluten which is a protein which sets when heated.
The egg protein denatures, coagulates and sets with the gluten and forms the sponge structure.
The cake changes colour as the starch changes to dextrin and the Maillard reaction takes place.
Nutrition analysis – using Nutrition Program
itaughtthemtocook.com 