Savarin

Ingredients

    For the batter:

• Strong white flour 225g
• Salt 1 teaspoon
• Dried instant yeast 7g
• Milk 150g
• Caster sugar 2 teaspoons
• Eggs 3
• Butter unsalted 85g

    For the syrup:

• Caster sugar 170g
• Water 210g
• Rum or other spirit (optional) 5 tablespoons

    For topping (all optional):

• Glacé cherries, half a dozen
• Desiccated coconut, small handful
• Fresh fruit
• Cream

Utensils

• Large mixing bowl
• Sieve
• Wooden spoon for beating
• 21cm diameter cake tin (needs to be quite deep, mine's 7cm deep)
• Baking parchment for lining the tin
• Oven

Method

Lightly adapted from Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery

1. Warm the milk to body heat, either in the microwave or on the stove
2. Sieve the flour into your large bowl
3. Add the yeast, salt and sugar to the bowl
4. Rub in the butter, doesn't have to be super fine just enough to break it up into 1cm sized chunks
5. Stir in the warm milk
6. Add the eggs
7. Mix together with a wooden spoon, it doesn't matter if it's still a bit lumpy at this stage
8. Cover and leave in a warm place (around 25 degrees Celsius) for around an hour until doubled in volume
9. Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon for around five minutes, it should thicken slightly
10. Line your tin with baking parchment
11. Pour the mixture into the tin, it should be less than half full to allow room for expansion
12. Put your oven on to preheat at 180 degrees Celsius
13. Cover the tin lightly and place it in the same warm place as before
14. When the mixture is 1cm away from the top of the tin it is ready to bake (45min - 1hour)
15. Place on a baking tray in the hot oven for 25 minutes
16. Whilst the cake is baking boil the sugar and water together for 10-15 minutes until it thickens slightly
17. Remove the syrup from the heat and add the alcohol (optional)
18. When the cake is baked it should have a pale golden colour all over, you can test the centre is cooked by inserting a skewer in the middle and seeing if it comes out clean
19. Leave it to cool for 2-3 minutes
20. Turn the cake upside-down onto a large dish or plate
21. Pour most of the syrup over the top of the cake and leave for 10-20 minutes to absorb, retain a little syrup and serve alongside as a sauce
22. Add your desired toppings and serve