Ingredients:
165 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
35 g castor sugar
1 tsp golden syrup
2 tsp brandy
60 g semolina (spread thinly on baking tray lined with aluminium foil; bake 10 minutes at 180°C; stir thoroughly; continue baking till light brown and fragrant, another 5 minutes or so; leave till cool)
80 g yolks
35 g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
60 g almonds (bake at 180°C till brown and fragrant, 6-8 mins; chop roughly when cool; grind till fine)
20 g cake flour
1/6 tsp baking soda
80 g egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
35 g castor sugar
Method:
- Whisk 165 g butter and 35 g sugar till thick and pale. Add 1 tsp golden syrup and 2 tsp brandy. Mix till combined. Add baked semolina. Mix thoroughly. Set aside till semolina is soft, about 1 hour, in air-conditioned comfort if weather is unusually hot.
- Preheat oven to 170°C. Line 18 x 5 cm round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk 80 g yolks and 35 g castor sugar till thick and pale. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and ground almonds. Sift 20 g cake flour and 1/6 tsp baking soda into mixture. Mix evenly. Add to butter mixture. Fold till almost even.
- Whisk 80 g egg whites till thick foam forms. Add 1/8 tsp cream of tartar. Whisk till foam thickens further. Gradually add 35 g castor sugar as you continue whisking. Keep whisking till egg whites just reach stiff peak stage. Fold into yolk and butter mixture in 2 batches till just evenly mixed, scraping down thoroughly as you fold.
- Pour batter into cake pan and level top. Bake till cake shrinks very slightly from sides, around 40 minutes. If cake browns too fast – check 25 minutes into baking – block oven's top heat with baking tray. Remove cake from oven. Let cool a few minutes. Unmould and leave on wire rack till completely cool.
