Mary Tapfield’s ‘Spunge Cake’

It seems that Nigella was not the first Lawson to put together a recipe book. Her predecessor was Mary Lawson, born in 1773 to a Yorkshire family with a lineage that could be traced back to the sixth wife of Henry VIII- Katherine Parr. Mary Lawson married Peter Tapfield, a steward to a Duke, and it was then that she began to make a collection of recipes.

The recipe that I have used is one for ‘Spunge Cake’. Though we might associate sponge cake with Queen Victoria, who began a craze for a sponge ‘sandwich’ filled with jam and cream, sponge cake was also enjoyed during the 18th century (minus the jam and cream). This recipe tastes far more like sponge fingers than sponge cake, and is curiously moreish.

Recipe:

5 eggs

11 ounces sugar (or the weight of five eggs)

7 ounces flour (or the weight of three eggs)

Gratings of half a lemon

Rosewater (optional)

Method:

1. Butter and line a tin and set the oven to about Gas Mark 6/200°C.
2. Beat the yolks and whites separately, then mix together.
3. Add the sugar, followed by the flour (sifted) and the lemon gratings.
4. Stir the mixture together, avoiding beating.
5. Add mixture to tin (you can also swirl in some rosewater) and put some greaseproof paper on top of the tin.
6. Bake in a hot oven for up to an hour. Turn down the heat if necessary to cook the whole way through.