Name: Fancy cakes
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 35 servings
Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients: 375 ml castor sugar; 4 large eggs; 250 ml oil; 10 ml vanilla essence or extract; 250 ml milk; 625 ml flour; 15 ml baking powder; 5 ml salt; 290 g smooth apricot jam; 3 – 4 x 250 ml boiling water; food colouring of your choice; desiccated coconut to coat the cake squares; whipped cream; Caramel Treat; sugar flowers; chocolate flake; tinned fruit; jelly 1 packet of jelly to 1 cup of water and let it set

Recipe Disclaimer

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Ingredients (18)

Sponge cake

375 ml	castor sugar
4	large eggs
250 ml	oil
10 ml	vanilla essence — or extract
250 ml	milk
625 ml	flour
15 ml	baking powder
5 ml	salt

Coating

290 g	smooth apricot jam
3 – 4 x 250 ml	boiling water
	food colouring — of your choice
	desiccated coconut — to coat the cake squares

Decoration

	whipped cream
	Caramel Treat
	sugar flowers
	chocolate flake
	tinned fruit
	jelly — 1 packet of jelly to 1 cup of water and let it set

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Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray a deep baking tray with cooking spray or grease with butter and sprinkle with a little flour.

SPONGE CAKE: Add the castor sugar and eggs to a mixing bowl and beat for about 4 – 5 minutes. Start adding the oil little by little to the egg mixture while beating.

Next add the vanilla essence, milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir all the ingredients until well combined. Give the batter one last beat to make sure that everything at the bottom of the bowl has combined with the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tray. Swipe a toothpick through the batter to get rid of any bubbles that may have formed.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Test the cake with a toothpick to make sure that it’s baked completely – if pressed into the centre, the toothpick must come out clean.

Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the baking tray, then turn it out on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, cut off the edges of the cake neatly and cut the cake into small squares.

COATING: In a mixing bowl whisk the apricot jam and boiling water together. Divide the mixture into three separate mixing bowls. Add a few drops of food colouring to each bowl. (You can use three different colours, or only one colour if you prefer.)

Dip a cake square into a jam mixture and then coat with coconut. Continue until all the cake has been dipped and coated.

DECORATION: With a piping bag, pipe the cream onto the cakes and decorate as desired.

Recipe extract from Fatima Sydow’s new cookbook – Cape Malay Cooking: My Story, My Heritage.