MASCARPONE CREAM

200g mascarpone 100g sour cream ¾ cup icing sugar mixture, sifted

Weigh all eggs together in shells. Using combined egg measurement, weigh out same quantity of unsalted butter, self-raising flflour and raw caster sugar. (For example, if the 3 eggs weigh 195g in their shells, then weigh out 195g of butter, 195g of flflour and 195g of sugar.) Melt butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Remove from heat. Add most of saffffron to pan with melted butter, cover with a lid and set aside in a warm place for at least 1 hour to steep. Place remaining saffffron threads and warm milk in a small bowl or cup, cover with a saucer and set aside to steep until required. Sift flflour and salt into a bowl, then set aside until required. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease a 23cm x 13cm loaf pan, then line with baking paper. Place sugar and warm saffffron-infused butter in a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Separate eggs. Place eggwhites in a clean, dry bowl and set aside. Add egg yolks to butter mixture and beat with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and pale. Add flflour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix (always stirring in the same direction) until well combined and stiffff. Gently stir in saffffron-infused milk. Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhites until stiffff peaks form. Using a thin, stiffff spatula, gently fold one-third of eggwhite into cake mixture. Repeat, in 2 batches, with remaining eggwhite. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, to make mascarpone cream, place mascarpone, sour cream and icing sugar in a medium bowl, and mix with a spoon until smooth. Spread icing over cooled saffffron cake. Cut into slices to serve.