![]() RecipeĢ50 g (10oz) of self raising flour 250g (10oz) of caster sugar 250g (10oz) of butter (at a cool room temperature) or margarine Five lightly beaten eggs (assuming each egg weighs about 50g (2oz)) Pinch of salt With any more fat or sugar the delicate scaffold of egg and flour collapses, making a dense, heavy cake (like a fruit cake). This recipe provides the perfect balance of these ingredients. ![]() These cakes generally contain equal weights of the four major ingredients: structure-building flour and eggs and structure-weakening fat and sugar. Raising agents provided a greater leavening power than yeast with much less time and effort.Ī classic of risen cakes is the English pound cake, on which the Victoria sponge is based. The earliest English cakes were still essentially bread, their main distinguishing characteristics being their shape – round and flat – and that they were hard on both sides as a result of being turned during baking.Ĭakes as we know them today only came on the scene during the 18th and 19th centuries when the lightness created by the leavening power of yeast was replaced, first by eggs, and then by chemical raising agents such as bicarbonate of soda. At this time cakes were basically breads, with egg, fat and honey added to create the recognisable essence of cake: richness and sweetness. The first skilled bakers were probably the ancient Egyptians. Making cakes like these might seem like an ageless tradition, but actually this type of light, airy cake is a relatively new invention. Some of my most treasured memories are of scooping fairy cake mixture into little paper cases, dipping my fingers into the melted chocolate icing, and the satisfaction of eating the misshapen creations for tea. Like many people, I was inducted into cake making at the apron of my mother.
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