I love Grand Marnier as a liqueur and as a wonderful after meal drink. I had imagined how these combinations would taste in a cake, but I wanted a light cake. So here it is, the wonderful Grand Marnier Sponge cake. To be really honest, I am shocked how good it tastes.

Of course, I have the advantage of a vintage cognac that was a limited edition kept from the year 2002. I had 20 bottles at that time, and this is the very last bottle left. I am going to use this very slowly.

Grand Marnier Sponge Cake

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Ingredients

Egg Yolk Mixture

6 Egg yolks
30 g Caster Sugar
Zest and juice of 1 Orange
30 ml Brandy I used Hennessy Cordon Bleu
80 g Plain Flour
80 g Butter melted

Meringue

6 Egg Whites
50 g Caster Sugar
A few drops of lemon juice

Instructions

Egg Yolk mixture

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until almost white in colour.
Add the melted butter and brandy to the flour and stir till well mixed.
Add brandy mixture to egg yolk mixture.

Beat Meringue

Beat the egg whites till frothy then add the lemon juice.
Gradually add the sugar and whip till firm but not yet stiff peak.
Add the egg yolk mixture to the meringue 1/3 at a time.
Line the base of a 20cm pan and pour the batter into the pan.
Bake at 160C for 60 minutes. Turn the heat to lower at 140C 15 minutes to the end of the baking time if you don't want the cake to crack.
Once out of the oven, drop the cake at 30cm height before turning it over to a cooling rack.
Cook completely before unmoulding and serving.