Saturday 31 August 2013

Butter Cake (easy) - traditional Norman recipe

Gateaux au Beurre
Oven: 180 deg.C : 350 deg.F - 25 mins. (approx.)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 tablspns. sugar
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs - separated - Whites beaten until soft peaks
8 ozs.  Butter (unsalted preferably - or omit salt if using salted butter) - melted (cooled)
1.1/4 cups of Self-Raising Flour - sifted
my addition: either grated lemon rind or 2 or 3 drops of almond essence with 2 or 3 drops of vanilla

1. Beat together the sugar, essences, salt and egg yolks until light and creamy
2. Gradually stir in the melted butter.
3. Fold the flour in gently
4. Fold the beaten whites into the batter about 1/3 at a time - add a small amount first to slightly loosen the mix. Don't overwork.
5. Grease and flour an 8" x 8" baking tin and pour the batter in.  Smooth out gently.
6. Bake, then cool for about 5mins before turning out.  Cool to room temperature before serving.

This is a very easy, plain cake and keeps pretty well - it could be split with a jam filling
but think it's better eaten  plain with either fresh or stewed fruits and a little crème fraiche. 
The juice from the cooked fruit makes the cake lovely and soggy!

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