Prune and Nut Sponge Cake

A sponge cake with prunes and nuts placed at the bottom of the pan before the batter is added. Turn it out onto a serving plate after baking. Other dried fruit or apples can replace the prunes.

Ingredients

15 eggs
21 cup sugar
31 cup flour
430 g butter for greasing the pan
52–3 tablespoons semolina for dusting the pan
6Prunes or other dried fruit, or apples
7Nuts

How to Cook

Thoroughly grease the bottom and sides of the pan with butter and dust with semolina.

Rinse the prunes, remove any pits and pat dry. Arrange them at the bottom of the pan with the nuts.

Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks with half a cup of sugar, then add 3–4 tablespoons of sifted flour from the total amount and mix.

Beat the whites to a firm foam. While continuing to beat, gradually add the remaining sugar, a spoonful at a time. Then gently fold in the remaining sifted flour in small batches.

Combine the white and yolk mixtures. Gently stir with a whisk in one direction, keeping the batter airy.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake in an oven preheated to 200 °C until golden and cooked through.

Remove the cake from the oven and turn it out onto a plate. If it does not release, cover the inverted pan with a cold, damp towel, then lift off the pan.