Mixed Fruit Butter Cake (2-egg recipe)

I trimmed a similar 3-egg butter cake recipe into a 2-egg one, so as to cater to my smaller Jamie Oliver"s 1-litre cake tin. It's a very aromatic butter fruit cake, but each person of my family only entitled to 2 thin slices. Although the cake is delicious, it's better to eat in moderation 😊

Yield: one small 16-cm cake
Pan size: 17.5x10x9cm (Jamie Oliver's 1L tin)

Ingredients

All ingredients in room temperature
Using 55g Omega 3&6 eggs

100g unsalted butter, softened but not glossy
1/8 tsp low-sodium fine salt
60g fine sugar

2 egg yolks

100g all purpose flour
2g baking powder

24g milk
6g lemon juice

10g golden syrup/honey
A small amount of lemon zest

2 egg whites
pinch of low-sodium fine salt
20g fine sugar

50g dried mixed fruits
9g hot water
1/2 tsp rum essence*, optional

* you can add vanilla extract in place of rum essence at Step 6.

Directions

1. Coat the cake tin with butter. Set aside.

2. Soak the dried mixed fruits with hot water and rum essence. Seal the cup with food wrap. Set aside for about 30 minutes.

3. Add lemon zest and golden syrup to lemon juice. Set aside.

4. Loosen the softened butter for about 30 seconds using Speed 6 of an handheld blender. Add in salt and sugar, continue to beat till the butter becomes pale and light.

5. Blend in the egg yolks, one at a time.

6. Mix baking powder to all purpose flour. Sieve in 1/2 of the flour mixture, and mix using the whisk manually.

Mix in the milk,

followed by the lemon juice mixture from Step 3.

Mix in the remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture. Set aside.

7. Beat egg whites in a clean, dry and grease-free mixing bowl till frothy. Add in pinch of salt and 20g of fine sugar. Continue to beat till reaching almost stiff peak stage.

But I have over-beaten the meringue this round 😱

8. Mix the meringue to the butter batter in about 3 batches.

Use a silicone spatula to give the batter a thorough mix. The batter should eventually become smooth.

9. Transfer about 1/4 of the batter to the cake tin. Drain away the excess liquid from the mixed fruits before adding to the remaining batter. 

Mix well and pour the batter to the cake tin.

Bang the cake tin against the worktop to level the batter and to get tid of trapped air bubbles.

10. Bake in the middle rack of a preheated oven at 150°C for about 60 minutes, or till an inserted cake tester came out clean.

11. Let the cake cool down in the tin for about 15 minutes,

or till the sides pull away from the tin's walls.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack,

and wrap the cake with cling wrap. This is to keep the moisture locked in the cake.

12. Cut the cake after it has cooled down. Enjoy 😋