Cake

• 125g/4 1/2oz/generous 3/4cup of rice flour, sifted
• 185g/6 1/2oz/scant 1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 7 large free-range egg whites
• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon of rosewater

Filing and Sauce

• Plenty of fresh soft fruits such as strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, stoned (pitted) cherries or currants
• White rum
• Caster (superfine) sugar to taste
• (I have left the quantities optional so that you can use this recipe for a small party of 6 guests or increase the amount of filling and sauce to the maximum of 12 guests)
• A large, deep, non-stick ring baking tin or a large, deep, non-stick Kugelhopf tin

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4
2. Make the cake first. Sift together the flour, 7 tablespoons of the sugar and salt in a bowl and set aside. In another larger bowl, whisk the egg white al low speed for 1 minute, or until they are thick and foamy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium
3. Slowly sprinkle 2 more tablespoons of sugar into the egg whites and beat them until they form soft peaks.Add the rose water and fold in the remaining sugar, followed by the sifted flour mixture
4. Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.It should be golden and firm to touch
5. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, after which time the cake should come have away from the sides of the tin. Ease the cake out and turn it on to a large serving plate
6. Fill the centre of the cake with as many berries as you like, so that it looks pretty. Keep the rest to make the sauce. Put plenty of berries,some rum and little sugar into the food processor and pulse into a puree. Adjust the sweetness and the consistency to suit your taste with extra sugar, water and rum. Sieve the sauce and discard all the pips and skins
7. The sauce should be just runny enough to spoon over the cake and trickle away!
8. Spoon the sauce decoratively over the sponge ring only, not on the fruit filling
9. Serve the rest of the sauce in a pretty jug to accompany the pudding.