Fresh Berry Sponge
A simple way to introduce fresh summer fruit into a cake is to bake a simple Genoese sponge with fresh berries or other fruit suspended in the middle. The sinking fruit problem, known to everyone who has ever made a cake with whole crystallised cherries, is solved by partly cooking half the cake mixture first, then laying the fruit on top before covering with the rest of the mixture and completing the baking. This method is suitable for blueberries, raspberries and blackcurrants as well as sliced apricots, peaches and plums.
- 3 eggs
- 200-250 g fruit (e.g., raspberries, blueberries, sliced apricots or plums)
- grated zest of half a lemon
- 75 g castor sugar
- 75 g plain flour
- icing sugar for topping
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 75 g butter, melted and cooled
Butter and flour a 22cm round cake tin. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and lemon zest, with 50g of the sugar, until thick and pale. Sift the flour and baking powder and stir lightly into the egg yolk mixture alternately with the cool melted butter.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat in the remaining 25g of sugar and fold the egg whites lightly into the egg yolk/flour mixture. Pour half this cake mixture into the cake tin. Bake at 180°C for 5-10 minutes just until the top is set, but not beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and spread the fruit on top. Cover with the rest of the cake mixture, return to the oven and continue cooking until the cake is springy to the touch. Serve with a thick dusting of icing sugar.