Servings : Makes one 8" or 1 small loaf cake
I’ve had several requests for a cake made with ghee/clarified butter as a substitute to the normal butter/margariner or oil. This is my version of a Ghee tea-cake, it delivers the softest, fluffiest and moistest cake with a delicate crumb and an amazing aroma with just the faintest citrus flavour from the lemon added in, which perfectly compliments the ghee aroma. If you like the taste and smell of ghee, then this cake will be a definite HIT. Serve it with tea for a perfect evening snack.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose/plain flour (180gm)
- 3/4 cup castor sugar or simply grind regular granulated sugar (150gm)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar (30gm)
- 3/4 cup ghee (150ml)
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla essence
- 1 tsp. lemon/lime juice
- 1/4 tsp. lemon/lime zest
Instructions
Make sure that the ghee, milk and eggs are at room temperature before you begin. You can separate the eggs when they are cold as that is when they are easiest to separate, but once separated keep them covered until they come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven at 180 C. Grease and line an 8 inch baking pan, then grease again and dust an with flour
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times to fully aerate the flour and give you a lighter, fluffier cake.
In a large bowl, beat the ghee with the sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the egg yolks one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the lemon/lime juice and zest and beat again.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add flour and milk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Take care not to overmix the batter, I prefer folding the flour in with a spatula as opposed to using a mixer just to make sure I do not overmix my cake batter.
Set the batter aside, and in another bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they begin to thicken. Then add the 2 tbsp of sugar and vanilla essence and keep whipping the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold a bit of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter and mix well with a spatula (DO NOT USE A MIXER AT THIS POINT). Then add the remaining egg whites into the batter and fold until well combined.
Pour the batter into a greased and lined cake pan and bake at 180 C for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer poked in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Turn the cake out on a rack and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Enjoy! 🙂
