Celebration Cake

Makes           : 1 large cake
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 525 g (2½ cups) castor sugar
• 5 ml (1 t) vanilla essence
• 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water
• 150 ml sunflower oil
• 490 g (3 ½ cups) cake flour
• 30 ml (2 T) baking powder
• pinch salt
• juice and grated rind of a large lemon (optional)

Icing:

• 125 ml (½ cup) soft margarine
• 500-750 ml (2-3 cups) icing sugar
• 10 ml (2 t) vanilla essence
• food colouring of your choice
• 10 ml (2 t) hot water, if necessary

Meringues:

Prepare 1 quantity of meringue mixture as per (See Small Meringue Cases)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. 
2. Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy; add the vanilla essence.
3. Mix the boiling water and oil together.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
5. Add the water and flour mixtures alternately to the egg mixture. Mix thoroughly.
6. Pour batter into a greased 240 x 320 x 10 mm cake pan or oven roasting pan and bake for 40-35 minutes until done. Let cool completely before icing.
7. To make the icing: Cream the margarine and icing sugar together. Add essence and mix through. Add water if icing is too stiff. Divide the icing mixture and colour each portion in a different colour.
8. To make the meringues: Divide the meringue mixture and colour as desired. Pipe onto a baking sheet and bake as per instructions. (See Small Meringue Cases)
9. Decorate cake with prepared icing and meringues as per picture.

---

Custard Layer Cake

Makes           : 1 cake
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Hint

The cake should be kept in the fridge if not eaten on the day that it was baked.

Classic sponge cake:

• 4 large eggs  
• 300 ml (250 g) castor sugar
• 500 ml (2 cups) flour
• 15 ml (3 T) baking powder 
• 250 ml (1 cup) full cream milk
• 100 g butter
• 5 ml (1 t) vanilla essence

Custard filling:

• 6 egg yolks
• 180 g (¾ cup) castor sugar
• 70 ml corn flour
• 500 ml (2 cups) milk
• 5 ml vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Beat eggs and castor sugar together until thick and creamy. Sift the flour and baking powder together and fold into egg and sugar mixture.
3. Heat milk and butter, but do not boil. Add vanilla essence and stir into batter.
4. Spoon into 2 x 20 cm greased cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes and remove from oven.
5. Whilst the cake layers are still hot, use a cotton thread and “cut” horizontally in halve. Place on a wire rack to cool.
6. In the meantime, make the custard filling: Beat the egg yolks and castor sugar together until light and foamy. Sift the corn flour and fold into the egg mixture.
7. Heat the milk until just below boiling and add, in a thin stream, to the egg mixture whilst beating constantly.
8. Heat over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Stir constantly.
9. Remove from heat and beat in the vanilla essence. Leave to cool.
10. To assemble the cake: Divide custard into 4 portions and use as filling and topping for each cake layer.
11. Sprinkle with ground caramel, if desired.

---

Lemon Curd

Serves          : 4
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Hint

Lemon curd will keep for several weeks, but it must be stored in a cool place.

Ingredients

• 45 ml butter
• 200 ml (160 g) sugar
• 2 lemons, juice and grated rind
• 3 extra large eggs, beaten

Method

1. Melt the butter. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, rind and beaten eggs.
2. Heat the mixture over boiling water and whisk continuously until thickened, ± 8 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, bottle and seal.
3. Use as a filling for tartlet cases.

---

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes           : 1
Cooking time: 1 hour

Hint

Pastry crust can be replaced with a biscuit and butter crust.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 175 g (310 ml) cake flour
• 30 ml (2 T) castor sugar
• 2,5 ml (½ t) salt
• 125 g butter
• 50 ml water

Filling:

• 1 x 397g can condensed milk
• 125 ml lemon juice
• 4 egg yolks
• 7,5 ml (1½ t) grated lemon rind
• 2,5 ml (½ t) cream of tartar
• 4 egg whites
• 60 ml (¼ cup) castor sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160ºC.
2. Sift the cake flour, castor sugar and salt together.
3. Rub in the butter and add just enough water to make a pliable dough. Place in plastic bag and leave in fridge for 1 hour.
4. Roll out pastry to 5mm thickness and line a tart pan. Place foil on pastry and fill with dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
5. Mix the condensed milk, lemon juice, egg yolk and lemon rind. Mix well.
6. Beat the egg white and cream of tartar until stiff; gradually add the castor sugar whilst beating continuously.
7. Fill pastry case with the filling and spoon meringue mixture on top.
8. Bake for 20 minutes until meringue topping becomes golden brown.

---

Small Meringue Cases

Makes           : ± 30, depending on size
Cooking time: 1 hour

Hint

The meringue cases can stand for ± 2 hours filled (not refrigerated) before serving. After this period it will start going soggy.

Ingredients

• 120 g egg whites (± 4 extra large eggs)
• 250 ml (1 cup) castor sugar
• 15 ml (1 T) corn flour
• 2,5 ml (½ t) cream of tartar

Filling:

• Lemon Curd

Method

1. Whip egg whites until stiff. Mix in the cream of tartar.
2. Reserve 60 ml castor sugar and mix with corn flour. Set aside.
3. Add the remainder of the castor sugar, one tablespoon at a time, to the egg white mixture while whipping continuously.
4. Fold in the corn flour mixture. Mix well.
5. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a small star nozzle and pipe small nests.
6. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes at 140ºC. Allow to cool.
7. Fill with lemon curd and serve.

---

South African Poultry Association | Suid-Afrikaanse Pluimveevereniging | Terms & Conditions