Currant Cake
Old-fashioned currant cake with lemon zest, folded egg whites, and cream of tartar leavening. A light, tender butter cake studded with dried currants. Makes 2 cakes in about an hour.
YIELD
2 cakesPREP
25 minCOOK
40 minREADY
1 hrsThis is a proper old-fashioned butter cake from an era when baking soda and cream of tartar did the work that baking powder does today.
The method tells you everything about its vintage roots: cream the butter and sugar, beat in the yolks, fold in stiffly whipped whites at the end. That technique gives the cake an airy, tender crumb that melts on the tongue.
Lemon zest and juice cut through the sweetness with a bright, citrusy edge, and the currants get dredged in flour first so they stay suspended throughout the batter instead of sinking to the bottom.
Two cakes from one batch, so you can eat one warm and share the other.
Baker’s Tips
- Dredging the currants in flour is the key to keeping them evenly distributed. Skip this step and they’ll all sink to the bottom of the pan.
- Fold the beaten egg whites in gently with a spatula. Stirring too roughly deflates them and you’ll lose the cake’s signature lightness.
- Use cake flour, not all-purpose. The lower protein content keeps the crumb soft and delicate. All-purpose flour produces a denser, tougher cake.
Ingredients
Directions
Cream butter and sugar.
Add well-beaten egg yolks and milk.
Mix thoroughly.
Sift flour, measure, and sift with baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.
Add lemon juice, lemon rind, and currants which have been dredged in 2 tablespoons of the flour.
Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
Pour into well-oiled cake pans. Bake in moderate oven at 375℉ (190℃) F about 40 minutes.
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