Julia's birthday cake: biscuit au beurre (butter spongecake)

Happy Birthday, Julia! In honor of her birthday, I decided to make a cake I'd never tried before, her "biscuit au beurre" spongecake. What a pretty cake, brushed with apricot jam and a rim of toasted, ground almonds. But, it's a little bland to my tastebuds, although Julia suggests it for tea served with berries or other fruits. It was wonderful with mango sorbet, but next time I make it I think I'll split it and fill the middle with creme patissiere for a little more interest. Still, it's a pretty foolproof cake - I usually make a genoise, which can be tricky.

from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I

to make:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter and flour an 8x2 inch cake pan.

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4 T. unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

2 t. vanilla

kosher salt, pinch of

2 T. sugar ( for the whites)

1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted

about a cup of apricot jam, warmed with a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice (the glaze)

about 3/4 cup toasted almonds, finely chopped in a food processor ( for the rim)

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Melt the butter until it's golden brown. Take off heat, set aside.

Beat the egg whites and salt together in mixer bowl until soft peaks are formed.

Sprinkle in the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Scrape onto a plate while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

In the same mixer bowl ( no washing!) mix the egg yolks. Gradually add the 2/3rds cup of sugar and the vanilla, and beat with whisk attachment until batter is pale yellow and thick.

Scoop 1/4 of the egg whites and 1/4 of the flour onto the egg yolk mixture and fold gently in. Add half the melted butter. When incorporated, add the next 1/4th, fold, and so on, and the rest of the butter, until all are blended in.

Scrape into prepared cake pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.

The top should be golden and firm to a tender touch in the middle. Remove to cooling rack for five minutes, then remove the cake to another rack to cool.

While still warm, brush the top and sides of the cake with the warmed apricot jam.

Holding the cake on a "table " of your five fingers, take a scoop of the almond meal and press all along the sides of the cake until covered.

If you want to add a filling, obviously you would split it and fill the middle before brushing with the jam and pressing in the almond meal. The recipe for the creme patissiere is here.

So enjoy - and raise a glass of bubbly to our favorite effervescent cook in the world!