What to with excess of eggs (part two)
Following on from my last post of eggs, I have a couple of ideas for using up eggs, but this time in the cakes and desserts category. The first one is very straightforward, and uses up three eggs at a time:
Victoria Sandwich
This is the only cake that I can cook without a recipe, and its quick and easy, and always tastes good. You need to take three eggs and weigh them – when I did this last week my eggs weighed 160 grams. Then you need the equivalent weight of butter (or margarine), sugar, and self raising flour.
Firstly, take two 7 inch cake tins, and either grease and flour them, or grease them and line them with greaseproof paper. Preheat your oven to 180 C.
Cream the sugar and butter together, using the back of a wooden spoon. In a separate bowl beat the eggs together, then add them to the sugar and butter mixture and mix well. Sift in the flour, and fold it into the mixture until you have a smooth batter.
Split the mixture between the two tins, and cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. To check they are cooked, insert a skewer into one of the cakes, and if it comes out clean its cooked, if not, give them another 5 minutes and check again.
When they are cool, remove from the tins, and sandwich together with jam of your choice. I like strawberry or raspberry. Best enjoyed on the day its made, but will keep in a tin for a week or so.
As an alternative, you can substitute 25 grams of flour for cocoa powder, and add a dash of vanilla essence. Voila, you have chocolate sponge instead – best filled with buttercream icing.
I confess that I don’t tend to bother with the creaming and folding of the mixture, I just whack my electric mixer on and whip it into shape. The results still taste good to me!
If you keep your eggs in the fridge try and get them out in advance to come up to room temperature before using them, otherwise the cake mixture will curdle.
Egg custard
I always think of egg custard or egg custard tarts as being a classic British pudding. Its something I remember my mum making when I was little, and always seems to be a favourite with older people. I have just cooked the custard here, as that is a healthier dessert than served in a pastry case, and I personally think its very tasty on its own.
To make enough egg custard for three ramekins you will need: 2 eggs, 25g of caster sugar, 300ml of milk, and some grated nutmeg.
Preheat your oven to 140 C (yes, it is meant to be that low!)
Put the milk in a pan and heat it up – do not let it boil. Beat the eggs and the sugar together. Pour the milk over the top of the egg mixture and stir it round.
Pour the egg mixture into the ramekins and then sprinkle some nutmeg on the top. Put the ramekins into an ovenproof container of cold water and the put the whole thing in the oven. Cook for between one hour and one hour and a quarter, until firm.
Many recipes you will find say you only use the egg yolks, but it always tastes fine to me using the whole egg, and then you don’t have whites left over.
To make a larger egg custard you can double the above quantities and use one large glass bowl instead of the individual ramekins. Increase the cooking time to between one and a quarter and one and a half hours.
The recipe as a whole is flexible: if you use say one less egg it will still work – the custard will just be a lot softer.
Finally the cold water container surrounding the ramekins may be more effective if it is not used for the first 10-15 minutes of cooking time as the water will remain cooler.
Enjoy – and let me know your favourite egg recipes as I still have plenty to use up.
