DUCK EGG SPONGE CAKE

Duck egg sponge cake image

Duck eggs make this sponge extra light and fluffy - cover in a rich buttercream for a showstopping Easter bake or stunning birthday cake

Provided by Miriam Nice

Categories Afternoon tea, Dessert, Treat

Time 1h35m

Yield Cuts into 12 slices

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

250g butter , melted, plus extra for greasing
5 duck eggs , or 250g weight of beaten hen's eggs
250g white caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
250g unsalted butter , chopped, at room temperature
600g icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 vanilla pod
food colouring (optional)
cocoa powder , for dusting
selection of mini chocolate eggs

Steps:

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease then line 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking parchment and grease the parchment too.
Crack the duck eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk for about 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Keep whisking as you add the melted butter, a little at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
Fold in the flour and baking powder with a large metal spoon until you can't see any pockets of flour. Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and bake for 35 mins or until bouncy to the touch and a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin, then turn out onto wire racks when cool enough to handle.
To make the buttercream, tip the butter into a big bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk. Add the icing sugar, 2-3 tbsp at a time, until it's all incorporated, adding the milk halfway through the process. Scrape the seeds out of a vanilla pod, add them in and whisk again. Transfer half the buttercream to another bowl and, if using, stir your food colouring into one of the mixtures. I used blue and a dash of green to create a classic duck egg shade.
When the buttercream mixtures are ready and the cake is cold, level the cakes with a bread knife, cut each one in half through the middle and stick all the layers together with the uncoloured buttercream. Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of the coloured buttercream - this will seal in any crumbs. Chill the cake for 30 mins, then cover with the rest of the buttercream and use a palette knife or pastry scraper to make the buttercream flat.
To finish, sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of cocoa powder onto the cake to create a speckled design. Repeat this in different sections of the cake, then top with a cluster of mini chocolate eggs and serve. Will keep for 2-3 days.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 717 calories, Fat 38 grams fat, SaturatedFat 22 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 86 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 71 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 7 grams protein, Sodium 0.7 milligram of sodium