Good Friday Cake
A unique Parsi tea-time cake traditionally baked for Good Friday, featuring a distinctive hot-syrup sponge technique. Boiling sugar syrup is whisked into beaten eggs to create a stable, airy base before folding in currants, candied peel, and aromatic spices like nutmeg or mace. The result is a golden, aromatic cake with a dense yet tender crumb, perfect for slicing and serving with afternoon tea.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour (Originally 'Mill's No. 1 Wheat Flour 0.5 lb'. Converted to volume.)
- 1 cup Granulated sugar (Originally '0.5 Seer' (approx 0.5 lb).)
- 1/4 cup Water (Originally '0.5 Pasher' (approx 5 Tolas/60ml). Used for making syrup.)
- 3/4 cup Dried currants (Originally '0.25 lb'. Cleaned.)
- 4 tablespoons Butter (Originally '5 Tola' (approx 58g).)
- 3 tablespoons Candied citron or orange peel (Originally '4 Tola'. Finely chopped.)
- 4 large Eggs
- 4 teaspoons Semolina
- 4 teaspoons Milk (Used to dissolve the leavening agent.)
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg or Mace (Ground. Originally '1 heaping spoon'.)
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder (Originally '1 flat spoon Carbonate of Ammonia'. Substituted with baking powder for modern safety and convenience.)
- 1 tablespoon Butter (for greasing) (Estimated quantity.)
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Instructions
- 1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Generously grease a cake mold with butter. Wash the currants, pat them completely dry with a cloth, and toss them with a pinch of flour to coat (this prevents them from sinking).
- 2In a small bowl, mix the baking powder (or ammonia) with the milk until dissolved or smooth. In a separate heat-proof bowl or tin-lined pot, beat the eggs thoroughly with a fork or whisk until they are thin and frothy.
- 3Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils into a sticky syrup. Strain through a cloth if necessary to remove impurities. While the syrup is still hot, pour it slowly into the beaten eggs while stirring constantly with a spoon to temper the mixture without scrambling the eggs.
- 4To the egg and syrup mixture, add the prepared currants, butter (softened or melted), flour, semolina, candied peel, nutmeg (or mace), and the milk-leavening mixture. Mix everything thoroughly to form a uniform batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake mold, filling it slightly less than full to allow for rising. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
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