English Cake

It all began far away from here, in a time and place where baking was almost always done at home, and recipes were cherished and guarded like gold. Once upon a time, I shared and learned from my beloved Mother Amy all the delicacies she used to cook and bake with warmth and love, and ready to set on the wooden dining table with her mouthwatering delicious food, cakes deserts….and a lot more!! This was the world in which we grew up! This recipe is a homemade cake with few tablespoons of love in everything, and I decided to share this delicacy with the world!!!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups Flour
4 Eggs, separated
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 tsp. Tartar powder
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
3 tbsp. powdered Milk
1 Lemon Zest
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Burnt Sugar liquid, find a recipe for Burnt Sugar at “sauces and pastes”
3 to 5 tbsp. Rum, Whisky, or Brandy
1 teacup of Walnuts, cut into small pieces
1/2 teacup Raisins
1/2 teacup red Candied Cherries, cut in halves

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease cake pan with softened butter and dust it with flour.

Separate the egg yolks from egg whites.

Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites with the tartar powder until very fluffy. Set aside in the fridge.

In another bowl, cream together egg yolks, sugar, and vegetable oil for 3 minutes until fluffy and light yellow.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to egg yolks mixture on medium speed, flour, baking powder, milk powder, vanilla, lemon zest, salt, and brandy, whisky or rum. Speed up the mixer to a higher speed while adding the burnt sugar water, the batter should be smooth and completely combined but avoid over mixing.

Add the walnuts, cherries, and raisins, to the cake mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.

Add the egg whites to the cake mixture folding carefully with a spatula to bring together.

Spoon the cake batter in the prepared cake pan.

Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven temperature.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting or decorating.

MAKING THE CREAM

4 cups liquid Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
50g unsalted Butter
4 tbsp. Cacao powder
50g Plain Dark Chocolate bar
Red food coloring
1 cup & 1/2 walnuts, half crushed

Bring the milk to boil, add the sugar and butter, separate the mixture into two cooking pans.

Add the cacao and chocolate bar to one pan and add red food coloring to the other pan.

Keep stirring until it becomes creamy.

Let it cool, then add the crushed walnuts to both pans.