A delightful, light cake that lends itself to many ingredients and flavours. I kept it fairly simple adding some flavour and interest in the buttercream with some great Greek brandy (Metaxa 12 year old) but sherry, whisky or non alcoholic flavourings such as rose water would also work very well.
You may choose to make a simple or even flavoured syrup to moisten the cake if you wish to offer as dessert but the sponge is light and fluffy and perfect as is for afternoon tea or with a strong cup of coffee.
I used dried flowers to decorate the cake but strawberries, raspberries or other fresh fruit with scattered violas would also look beautiful.
Ingredients – for the cake (serves 8-10)
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g almond flour
- 55g panko crumbs
- 10g baking powder
- 6 medium eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla paste
For the Metaxa buttercream
- 250g unsalted butter (82% fat), soft but holding its shape
- 400g icing sugar
- 40ml Metaxa 12 star,
- Plus dried flowers to decorate
Method
- Start by greasing and dusting with flour 2 x 20cm round cake tins.
- Preheat the oven to 170 C.
- In a bowl, beat the egg whites to a stiff meringue.
- In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla paste and stir. Stir the baking powder to the almond flour in a small bowl and add that to the egg yolks together with the panko crumbs stirring to mix. Using a large spoon, add one third of the meringue and stir to incorporate fully. Fold the remaining meringue into the cake batter carefully not to knock the air out of the mix.
- Spoon the cake mix into the prepared cake tins, tap them gently on the work top to eliminate any air pockets and bake on a middle shelf for 22-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cakes in the tins for a few minutes to cool slightly and turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- To make the butter cream, use a standing mixer or a hand held electric mixer to whisk the butter for 5 minutes or more until pale and fluffy. Add 1/3 of the sugar and continue whisking until the volume increases slightly and repeat with another 1/3 of the sugar and finally the remaining 1/3. You should have a very light, very pale almost white buttercream. Add 2 tbsp of milk and whisk a minute or so more to lighten the buttercream further and finally the Metaxa whisking again for a few minutes.
- To compose the cake, put one cake on a cake stand. Spoon over some of the butter cream and top with the other cake. Spread the remaining buttercream on the top and round the sides using a spatula to flatten the icing. Decorate with dried flowers, fresh fruit, nuts, sprinkles, etc.
