Sponge cake with syrup (Pan de spanga)

Ingredients

8 eggs

¾ cup of butter

3 cups of self raising flour

1 cup of sugar

1 lemon (zest)

¼ tsp vanilla powder

For the syrup

5 cups of sugar

7 cups of water

1 lemon (5 drops & peel)

Instructions

Separate the eggs into two bowls, the yolk in one and the white in the other.

In the bowl with the egg whites, add three tbsp of sugar. In the one with the yolks, add the rest of the sugar.

Use an electric mixer to beat the yolks with the sugar.

Beat them for 2-3 minutes and add the butter. Beat them again for 3-4 minutes until the colour of the mixture looks whiter.

Put the mixture aside, and with a clean mixer, beat the egg whites. (the meringue will fail if there is any residue)

Beat them for 5-7 minutes, until you see that the mixture has become solid and won’t fall out of the bowl.

The secret to a perfect sponge cake is to mix the ingredients well and softly.

When both mixtures are ready, take 1/3 of the meringue and add it into the other bowl.

Stir them carefully until all the ingredients are well mixed.

Add one cup of flour and mix them well.

Add 1/3 of the meringue, stir it, add one cup of flour and mix again very well.

Add the last part of the meringue and after mixing, the last cup of flour.

Add the vanilla powder and lemon zest.

Mix them carefully until they are a compact mass.

Grease a pan and add the mixture. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes at 180 ◦C / 355 ◦F.

After the cake is ready let it cool down and prepare the syrup.

In a pot, add 7 cups of water and 5 cups of sugar.

Add the lemon peel and 5 lemon drops.

Let it boil for 10 minutes. Once it is ready pour it over the cold sponge cake.

Serve it cold.