Brown Butter Cake with Whipped Honey Cream

RECIPE

serves 10-12

equipment : two 8 inch (20cm) sandwich tins

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220g unsalted butter, cubed

200g caster sugar

3 large eggs

1 egg yolk

200g plain flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

40ml warm milk

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For the filling

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200ml double cream

30g honey (I like to use heather honey)

¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt

icing sugar, to dust

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METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C. Grease and line two 8 inch sandwich tins.

2. Add the butter to a deep saucepan. (If you’re browning butter for the first time, I recommend using a light coloured pan to help you see the colour changes more easily). Heat the butter over a medium heat until completely melted.

3. After a few minutes, the butter will start to bubble and spatter. Give the pan a swirl and a stir every so often to ensure it’s melting evenly. The butter will then start to get foamy and at this point things will move quickly! Keep scraping the pan to stop the milk solids from sticking to the bottom. It should be smelling quite fragrant and nutty at this point and that’s how you know you’re close. Once the butter looks a nice deep amber colour (don’t be scared to take it fairly dark!) remove from the heat and pour it into a heatproof bowl or jug, including all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Let it cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge until it reaches the consistency of softened butter. If it gets too firm, just leave it out at room temperature to soften a little.

4. Once the butter is at the right consistency, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl along with the sugar. Cream together until it’s really pale and fluffy.

5. Add in the eggs and yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

7. Add about a third of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix on low speed until smooth. Add in some of the milk and continue alternating with the rest of the dry ingredients and milk.

8. Divide the batter evenly between the two tins and bake for 26-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool completely.

9. To make the filling, add the cream, honey and salt to a bowl. Whisk until the cream just passes soft peaks. You don’t need it to be super stiff, it should gently be able to fall off a spoon.

10. Spoon the cream on top of one cake and drizzle with a little extra honey. Place the second cake topside down and dust with icing sugar to serve. Once assembled this cake is best eaten on the day due to the fresh cream.