paper-wrapped cakes

2 min read

The simple and literal name of these cakes belies a wonderfully light and eggy cake with a beautiful golden crust. Although it looks like a sponge from the outside, the texture insideis quite unique: the crumb is very fine with a slightly daan (springy) bite quality. We like to bake ours in a muffin tin for a pretty mini version before loading them up with a lychee cream for extra sweetness and texture.

Makes 12 muffin-sized cakes for the yolk mixture 3 egg yoks 1 whole egg 12 tsp vanilla extract 55ml vegetable oil 70g self-raising flour for the meringue 3 egg whites 65g icing sugar, sifted for the lychee cream cream 200ml double cream 3 tbsp icing sugar, sifted 100g canned lychees, roughly chopped 1 tsp lychee juice from the can or 1 tsp lychee liqueur 1 Preheat the oven to170c/340f/Gas mark. Prepare your muffin tin by lining the holes with squares of non-stick paper.

2 Put all the ingredients for the yolk mixture, except the flour, into a large bowl, and use a hand whisk to whisk until the yolks are slightly pale in colour. Sift in the flour and whisk again until smooth.

The batter will be very thick at this stage.

3 For the meringue, beat the egg whites in a large, clean, grease-free bowl until they become frothy,then gradually add the sifted icing sugar and continue beating until the whites are opaque and glossy, and stiff peaks form.

4 Add a third of the egg whites to the yolk batter and use a whisk to gently combine the two. Repeat with the remaining egg whites, folding them in gently until they have just combined with the mixture. Pour or spoon the cake mixture into the prepared cups until they are two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown. Turn the oven off and open the door,leaving the cakes inside for a further minutes. Then pop the tray on top of a wire rack and leave the cakes to cool completely before twisting them out of the cups.

5 In a bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks and stir in the sifted icing sugar followed by the chopped lychees and lychee juice (or liqueur). Spoon the cream generously on top of the cakes to serve.