Just Heavenly's Traditional Butter Cake

Owners of Just Heavenly, Nigel Skelchy and Allan Yap were featured in Flavours (a mag covering the Malaysian F & B scene) May-June 2007. A Just Heavenly cake is one of the most sought after for weddings and birthdays. The recipe of their traditional butter cake,being in Nigel's family for generations, was gracious shared. The below is the exact word for word recipe from the magazine. I have attached photos which were taken during my experiment with the recipe.

450 g unsalted butter, slightly softened

450 g caster sugar

12 eggs, separated

60 ml milk (or brandy)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 tsp salt, sifted with

450 g cake or low protein flour

1/4 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp rose water, optional

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder, optional

Preheat oven to 170 C. grease and line 2 loaf tins or 1 round 23cm tin.

Cream the butter in mixer on medium speed until pale and light.

Set aside 1 tablespoon of sugar and add the rest into the butter. Continue to cream for another 2 minutes.

With a mixer on medium speed, add egg yolks, two at a time, waiting for about 15 seconds between each addition.

Add the milk and vanilla; mix well. Fold in the flour.

Whisk the egg whites until slghtly frothy. Add the lemon juice and slowly drizzle in the sugar that was set aside earlier. Whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks.

Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake in the prepared oven until golden brown and top of cake splits slightly. A cake skewer stuck into the cake at this point should come out with a few crumbs stuck to it.

Place cake tin on a wire rack and cover with a dry tea towel to prevent cake from drying. Allow for 30 minutes before unmolding.

One recipe will provide approximately 60 cupcakes. Just follow the recipe and you will get the exact results, right down to the cracks in the middle. I baked them for 25 minutes. Also kindly ensure egg whites are beaten right before they are folded in. This gives a light airy texture. Have fun!