CookEat Recipe
Sultana Sponge Cake
A tall sponge cake with sultanas and candied citrus, scented with lemon zest and rum.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 150 g caster sugar; 100 g plain wheat flour, plus 5 g for the mould; 50 g potato starch, not potato flour; 80 g sultanas; 20 g candied citron peel; 5 eggs, separated; Finely grated zest of ½ lemon; About 60–90 ml rum for warming the fruit, plus 2 tablespoons for the batter; 5 g butter for the mould; 5 g icing sugar for the mould.
Step 2
Cut the candied citron into pieces about the size of watermelon seeds. Put it with the sultanas in a very small saucepan and add just enough rum to cover them, about 60–90 ml depending on the pan. Keep the bottle away from heat. Warm gently without igniting, simmer for about 2–3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Drain thoroughly and spread between clean towels to dry and cool. This gentle warming and draining replaces the original flambé; it does not make the fruit alcohol-free.
Step 3
Grease a smooth round metal mould about 18 cm across and at least 10 cm deep with the butter, then dust with the extra 5 g flour mixed with the icing sugar. Heat the oven to 170°C before mixing the sponge so it can bake immediately.
Step 4
Beat the yolks with the caster sugar and lemon zest until very pale, thick and ribbon-forming, about 30 minutes by hand or 8–10 minutes with an electric whisk. Whisk the whites separately to firm peaks and fold them gently into the yolks.
Step 5
Sift the 100 g wheat flour and potato starch into the foam in small additions, folding gently as you go. Finally fold in the dried fruit and the separate 2 tablespoons rum. Pour at once into the prepared mould and put immediately into the hot oven.
Step 6
Bake for about 40–55 minutes, until risen and set and a clean wooden skewer comes out without wet batter. Cover loosely with foil if the top colours before the centre cooks. Let cool for about 15 minutes, turn out carefully and cool completely on a rack before serving, allowing roughly two hours for cooling.
Step 7
Cognac may replace the rum in both the fruit preparation and the batter, using the same quantities and method. If the fruit sinks badly in a first batch, the original suggests using five yolks but only four whites in the next batch; retain all other quantities and bake immediately as above. Neither version should be described as alcohol-free.
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