Savarin Cake

Ingredients:—Two pounds of flour, four ounces of sugar, twenty unces of fresh butter, fifteen eggs, half an ounce of salt, one ounce and a half of German-yeast, and four ounces of shred almonds.

First, set the sponge with one-fourth part of the flour, in the same manner as directed for making brioche then, while the sponge is placed in a moderate temperature, to admit of its rising gradually and satisfactorily, place the remainder of the flour in a large white pan or basin; hollow out the centre, and having first placed therein the salt moistened with a teaspoonful of water, the butter, sugar, and ten whole eggs broken, proceed to manipulate the whole with the right hand, beating up the paste until it easily leaves the sides of the pan; you then break in the remainder of the eggs, —two at a time, until the paste has absorbed the whole; and, after having continued to work it five minutes longer, proceed to fill an appropriate-sized mould with it, in the following manner:—first, let the inside of the mould be well buttered, after which strew the shred almonds equally over and about the surface of the interior; next, work the paste up again for a minute or two, and put a sufficient quantity into the mould to rather more than half fill it.

You now place the savarin in a moderate temperature to rise until it has nearly filled the mould; when, after first sticking a broad band of thick paper round the upper part of the mould, so as effectually to prevent the batter from running over the sides of the mould while it is being baked, put it in an oven of moderate heat, and bake it for about two hours. When done, turn the savarin out of the mould, and after running a knife into several parts of the surface, pour gently a rather thick orange-syrup containing a glassful of curacoa over and into the savarin, and send to table quite warm.

This kind of cake is sometimes, in order to vary its appearance, after being first well soaked with a warm rich syrup, rolled all over in orange or lemon sugar.