A cake with no butter

While I was in Hawaii I wanted a baking book that a typical American home would have on it's shelves.

I was in Borders in Oahu (Ala Moana Centre) and I asked someone there. He was a great guy, very helpful and he said straight away there was only one book I should buy and that was by Rose Levy Beranbaum. She wrote the Cake Bible a few years bake and had recently authored Heavenly Cakes.

It was this book that he recommended and how did he know with confidence it was the right book? His wife had it and she had made a dozen or so of the recipes and everyone of them worked.

That was a good enough recommendation for me - so I packed this book into my suitcase and it kindly added several kilos to the overall weight.

I have been back a couple of months and whilst I have perused the book and still hadn't made anything  until another baker on a forum I frequent posted the most magnificent cake I had ever seen and she had said it was from this book and it was called a Whipped Cream Cake.

The bizarre thing is that it has no butter, that you get the butterfat from the cream (it needs to be at least 35% and Rose prefers 40%).

As I was so impressed and curious about the cake, I whipped it up this afternoon and had it for afternoon tea.

Rose has some definite ways to bake and whilst I don't prescribe to them all there are some I rather like. 1. is that she has measurement for everything including eggs and she is pretty insistent that you measure them accurately 2. That you preheat the oven for at least 20 minutes prior to putting the cake in and 3.  Eggs at room temperature (which I do by placing fridge cold eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes or while I am getting organised)

It really couldn't be simplier.

225gms plain or cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

348grams of cold heavy cream (at least35% fat but preferably 40% if you can get it)

1 cup castor sugar

3 eggs that weigh 150gms

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 190C or 175C if you are using a dark pan.

Spray a 10 cup bundt tin with Bakers Joy (the only way I can successfully use bundt pans) Rose likes to also flour but I don't

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a mixmaster and the whisk beater on low speed, whip the cream, increasing the speed as it thickens until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl whisk the eggs and the vanilla until lightly combined.

On medium speed gradually add the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken and look like mayonnaise. Then gradually beat in the sugar which should take about 30 seconds.

Take the bowl off the mixmaster and then add half the flour mix and stir and fold it into the cream mixture until it disappears. Then add the remaining flour and fold until all traces have disappeared.

Place into your prepared pan and bake on the 3rd shelf of your oven for around 25-35 minutes.

Take out and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then take out.

Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar.

I served mine with homemade strawberry and vanilla bean jam and lightly whipped cream.

The crumb was lovely and the flavour fantastic!

I am a convert to Rose! There will be more of her cakes coming out of my kitchen and I have no doubt they will appear here, in our virtual kitchen!