This is a very dense cake, delicious served as a dessert with berries and Greek yoghurt. The large number of egg yolks used provides the rich yellow colour. Over the years there have been a number of recipes for gold cakes, created, no doubt, to use up egg yolks left over from other recipes. This particular recipe comes from Cakes and Confections à la Mode by Mrs Harriet De Salis, 1889.

Makes 10 cakes

1¼lb/600g butter

1¼lb/600g sugar

50 egg yolks

5 pints/2.5 litres milk

1lb 14oz/850g flour

1½oz/50g of baking powder

 

Method

1. Beat the sugar and the butter until white

2. Gradually beat in the eggs

3. Add the flour

4. The mixture will be like a thick pancake batter. Pour it into a 20cm/8" tin

5. Bake at 180?C for 35 minutes