Cream Cakes And Gateaux
For Special Celebrations

Scroll down for more recipes for cakes and gateaux at the bottom of the page.

Meanwhile, here's a rich lemon cake for you to try.

Ingredients

300ml...1/2 pint fresh double cream
175g...6oz butter, or margarine
175g...6oz caster sugar
175g...6oz self rasing flour
(or flour with baking powder added)
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
75g...3oz icing sugar plus a little for dusting
3 medium eggs, beaten

Two greased and base lined 20cm (8in) sandwich tins (layer pans)

In a large bowl, cream the butter (at room temperature) and sugar together until soft and light. Beat in the grated lemon rind. Add the beaten egg gradually along with a little flour to prevent the mix from splitting.

Then add the rest of the flour - sifted to remove any lumps and gently folded into the mixture to form a smooth batter.

Divide the cake mixture between the two prepared tins and transfer to the centre of the preheated oven. Bake for about 25 mins until well risen, golden and springy to the touch.

Leave the sponges to cool for a few minutes in the tins before turning out onto a rack to cool completely. When cool, stack one sponge on top of the other on a plate, and using a skewer or similar, pierce the top of the cake all over, pushing right through into the bottom layer.

Gently heat the icing sugar and lemon juice together in a small pan until the sugar is dissolved and then pour the syrup slowly over the cake allowing it to soak into the holes. Cover and leave to cool for about an hour.

Whip the cream until thick and after carefully separating the sponge layers, sanwich the cake together.

Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

(Like most cakes, this freezes well after the lemon syrup has been drizzled onto the cake. So you could bake it and freeze until final preparation on the day it is served)