This cake recipe is made with just a few basic ingredients that can be found in your kitchen. Line a 6″ round cake pan with parchment paper at the base, and coat the wall of the pan with butter. Place a gridiron in a 20cm square pan to serve as a water bath later. Mix milk, vanilla yogurt, golden syrup, and vanilla extract in a small container. Sieve top flour in a bowl and set aside.

Heat butter with milk at a low temperature till reaching about 65~70℃. Stir the content occasionally to prevent the melted butter from splattering. Start to preheat the oven to 180℃ with only the upper heating element, at the same time. Pour the hot butter mixture over the sifted flour. Mix into a paste using a silicone spatula. Combine the yogurt-milk mixture with the butter dough. Beat egg whites in a dry, clean, and grease-free mixing bowl till foamy.

Add in a pinch of salt and about 1/4 of the caster sugar. Continue to beat at high speed using an electric hand mixer, and gradually add in the remaining sugar, till reaching the almost firm peak stage. Lower the mixer speed when the egg whites start to harden. Take about 1/4 of the meringue to mix with the butter batter into a smooth paste.

Pour the latter back to combine with the remaining meringue. Mix into a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan then tap the pan against the worktop to remove any trapped air bubbles. Pour about 1cm of hot water into the 20cm square pan lined with a gridiron then place the cake pan into the water bath.

Bake at 170℃ with upper heating for 40 minutes, reduce to 150℃ with both upper and lower heating for 20 minutes, at the lowest rack of the oven. Transfer the cake out of the oven, and close the oven door to keep the heat for drying the cake later. Drop the cake with the pan thrice to a kitchen towel from a height of about 10 cm.

This is to prevent the cake from shrinking during cooling down. Let the cake rest in the pan for about 20 minutes, or till the cake pulls away from the wall of the pan. Remove the pan and let the cake cool down over a wire rack. Cut the cake when the cake has completely cooled down and enjoy.

Ingredients;

  • 8 eggs separated
  • 260 g (1 cup + 3 tbsp) sugar
  • 170 g (1 cup + ⅓) baking flour
  • 107 g (1 stick) butter
  • 12 g (3 tsp) baking powder
  • pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions;

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 ºC or 350 ºF. Grease and line a 30 X 20 cm or 12 x 8-inch cake pan.
  2. Melt butter on low heat and let it cool.
  3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks, with salt (optional).
  4. In another bowl, combine yolks and sugar for about 5 minutes or until you reach an almost white and light cream.
  5. Slowly add the butter to your yolks, beating on low.
  6. Add a few egg whites and mix. Sift a bit of flour with the baking powder and mix.
  7. Alternate sifting flour and baking powder with the remaining egg whites, and fold very gently in between, so that you don’t lose all the air from the egg whites.
  8. Carefully, pour it into the prepared pan, smooth, and level the top.
  9. Bake it for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Pay attention so it doesn’t dry.
  10. After taking it out of the oven let it sit for 5 minutes and unmold. If needed, release it from the pan with the help of a knife or an offset spatula.
  11. Let it cool on a rack.