Image is for illustrative purposes only.
Sand base is the classic equal-weight butter cake: the same weight of cake flour, caster sugar, butter and egg, lifted with nothing more than the air you beat into it and flavoured with vanilla and fresh lemon zest. The name comes from the crumb, which is fine, close and very slightly sandy on the tongue, rather than open and airy like a whisked sponge.
It bakes flat and firm, cuts cleanly without crumbling and holds its shape under layers of cream, ganache or mousse, so it is a dependable base for layered cakes, cut shapes and petits fours. It also keeps well, and a day-old sand base slices even better than a fresh one. Eaten plain with a cup of coffee it needs nothing else.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 1010
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: 20 cm round tin, about 6 cm high
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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Cake Flour
Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product.
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sifted |
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B
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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C
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500 |
17.6 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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room temperature |
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D
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500 |
10 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature, lightly beaten |
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E
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10 |
2 teaspoons
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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F
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10 |
0.4 ounce
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Lemon Zest
Lemon zest is the thin, brightly coloured outer layer of the lemon skin, removed with a fine grater or zester without taking the bitter white pith underneath. It holds the fruit's aromatic oils and gives a fresh citrus lift to batters and creams.
fresh
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finely grated |
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2020
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease two 20 cm round tins and line the bases with baking paper. |
Oven fully up to temperature before the batter goes in |
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2 |
Prepare |
Sift A (cake flour) and set it aside. Have C and D (butter and whole egg) at room temperature. |
Cold butter or cold egg will curdle the batter |
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3 |
Cream |
Cream C, B, F and E (butter, caster sugar, lemon zest and vanilla essence) together on medium speed, scraping the bowl down two or three times. |
Pale, light and fluffy, with no grittiness left from the sugar |
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4 |
Add |
Add D (whole egg) a little at a time, beating well after each addition and waiting until each lot is fully taken up before adding more. |
Smooth and glossy, not split; if it starts to curdle, add a spoonful of the sifted flour |
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5 |
Fold |
Fold the sifted A (cake flour) through the batter in two or three lots, by hand or on the lowest speed. |
Just combined, no dry flour showing; do not over-mix |
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6 |
Fill |
Divide the batter evenly between the two tins and level the tops with a spatula, hollowing the centre very slightly. |
Even thickness so the cakes bake flat |
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7 |
Bake |
Bake at 170°C (340°F) for about 40 to 45 minutes. |
Golden, springs back when pressed in the centre and a skewer comes out clean |
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8 |
Cool |
Rest the cakes in their tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the paper. |
Completely cold before cutting or layering |
Important Notes
This halved batch makes about 2,020 g of batter, enough for two 20 cm round tins about 6 cm high, or one 30 x 25 cm slab tray. The mixture is heavy, so weigh the batter into the tins if you want two layers of the same height. Sand base cuts far more neatly the day after baking: wrap it well while still slightly warm, leave it overnight at room temperature, then trim and slice. Wrapped in plastic it keeps three to four days at room temperature, a week in the fridge, or up to three months frozen. The chef left the PUFF POINTS section of the sheet blank, so no tin yields or finishing notes were recorded.
Tools & Arrangements
Kitchen scales, stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer), sieve, rubber spatula, fine grater or zester, two 20 cm round tins, baking paper, skewer, wire cooling rack.
