This is a very light, easy to digest summer berry cake; in addition to baking powder, the cake contains whipped egg whites which makes it incredibly fluffy and light. The cake works with any kind of berry or even a mix of different berries, but be warned – if you mainly use sour berries like redcurrants, the cake will be a pleasant combination of sweet dough and sour berries if you like sweet and sour, or every bite will be an ordeal if you don’t like anything sour. I love sour berries and my entire family does, so for us a redcurrant, blackcurrant and gooseberry sponge cake like the pictured one is a great summer treat! The berries pictured are from a pick your own berry field in Zurich, picked just an hour before we baked the cake.
This cake also works well with frozen berries if you feel like a bit of summer feeling during the grey winter months. This is my mum’s recipe and this cake accompanied me all through childhood.
Recipe
- 60g butter, softened
- 4 eggs
- 120g sugar
- 1 untreated lemon
- 120g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2-4 handfuls of berries, fresh or frozen (we used redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries)
- some icing sugar for dusting the cake
Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
Wash the berries.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the grated lemon zest of 1/2 lemon and the softened btter. Beat again and add the sieved flour and mix just until combined.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until very stiff. Carefully mix the egg whites with the dough.
Cover the inside of a springform (24-26cm) with butter and flour and pour dough into the form. Sprinkle the berries on top of the dough.
Bake at 180C (middle to lowest rack) for 30-45 minutes.
Once cooled down, dust the cake with icing sugar. This cake is best eaten at the same day but can be kept for 2-3 days.
