When I meet Natalie Paull at her local North Melbourne cafe, she rattles off the three bakes currently occupying shelf space in her home fridge, including her favourite cheesecake − the one she clearly loves the most.
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she → meet → cheesecake
Since closing her dearly beloved Beatrix shopfront a few blocks away, the bestselling author has kept her beaters spinning, investing time in developing recipes and hobby baking, from tackling her “terrible” fear of choux pastry to perfecting pineapple jam for hummingbird cake (both bakes feature in her third cookbook, Sweet Heart).
She’s poured her heart into testing recipes for home bakers: “I think that my calling − or my purpose, my all-purpose − is to give people that confidence of opening a pack of flour, [and] feel they can tackle a cake for the first time, and have something lovely come out.”
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something → close → time
‘To know that someone will go forward in life and be making one of my recipes, that is, that means, the world to me.
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that → know → me
The original All-purpose sponge cake from her debut cookbook Beatrix Bakes is a fan favourite (“people say, I didn’t ever think I could make a sponge, and then I made yours, and now I make it all the time), but the following improved-upon recipe is “the one she loves the most”.
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she → say → it
The resulting “cottony” cake is inspired by childhood memories of the “perfect” sponge, sandwiched with whipped cream and topped with thick passionfruit icing, that would make regular appearances at her best friend Lesley’s house, itself adapted from a nun’s recipe, which called for sifting the flours nine times, and whipping the eggs for nine minutes.
Paull’s recipe doesn’t quite go that far, but there are plenty of signature tips and “Trix”.
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recipe → result → tips
She generously shares some extras with Good Food, over a piccolo chased with a filter coffee.
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She → share → coffee
“When you gently close the door, it’s probably best just to respect that it stays closed.
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it → close → door
But the next best thing is her recipes, and their enduring legacy.
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thing → endure → ?
“To know that someone will go forward in life and be making one of my recipes, that is, that means, the world to me.
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that → know → me
“I loved what I did at the shop, I loved what I was making for people, and people were so in love with what we did there, but
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we → love → what
it’s also really beautiful to be in [their home] kitchens, that there was a recipe that goes on the table, every birthday or celebration − that’s amazing.”
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that → ’ → table
Just like that “nun’s sponge” made by her best friend’s mum, of which she’d eat two or three slices apiece.
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she → make → slices
Here are Paull’s sponge-making secrets, starting with her No.1 tip.
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secrets → make → tip
The essential ingredient
Cornflour, but not the one that’s made from corn (or maize).
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that → make → corn
Paull insists on using wheaten cornflour, an “old timey, CWA” ingredient made from, you guessed it, wheat.
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you → insist → wheat
While Paull says standard maize-based cornflour is fine for custards, wheaten cornflour is always the best cornflour to use for dry applications, and helps the sponge rise.
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sponge → say → applications
She stocks up in country or independent supermarkets (look for Fielders or home brands) and keeps some spare in the fridge for longevity.
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She → stock → longevity
Cracking egg myths
- Size doesn’t matter.
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Size → crack → ?
Because Paull specifies separate combined weights for yolks and whites, the size of your eggs isn’t an issue.
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size → specify → eggs
Paull suggests buying jumbo eggs (900g) at markets, which are often better value.
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which → suggest → markets
- Neither does freshness: “Fresh eggs give you less volume, but a more stable foam.
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eggs → do → volume
Older eggs give you more volume, but less stable.
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eggs → give → volume
So by the time you fold it in your flour and other things, you’ll pretty much end up with the same amount.”
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you → fold → amount
Custard powder is an addition to the OG recipe, a “tiny little nod to the [Australian] tradition” that adds a “nice peachy tone” to the cake, especially if the yolks aren’t very vibrant.
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yolks → add → cake
Sifting the dry ingredients multiple times is not about aerating the flour; rather, it’s to incorporate the cornflour and plain flour, which “don’t make friends very easily”.
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which → sift → friends
“If you [only] sift it once, when the cake’s baked, you’ll see a heavier layer, and then a lighter layer on top.”
‘I think we’re so worried about being fast, that we forget to be gentle.
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we → sift → top
I like to slow everyone down.
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I → like → everyone
While the nun’s recipe called for nine sifting shifts, the Beatrix recipe below is technically six, if you count the final “fairy blanket” sifted directly onto the egg foam.
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you → call → foam
Sticking with the enchanted theme, this floury blanket should be folded in with a “fairy’s touch”.
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blanket → stick → touch
“I think we’re so worried about being fast, that we forget to be gentle.
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we → think → ?
I like to slow everyone down.
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I → like → everyone
“When you’re folding, you’re very gentle and the movement, but it’s very intentional.
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it → fold → ?
Fold in with a metal whisk; Paull finds the sturdy tines are more effective at cutting through the dry ingredients than a spatula.
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tines → fold → spatula
Put it on ice before you slice
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you → put → ice
It’s not just the flours that need to get to know each other.
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that → ’ → other
Paull recommends filling the sponge, wrapping and chilling it in the fridge a day in advance, so the cream can meet the sponge surface.
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cream → recommend → surface
“Because you’ve exposed the crumb [by shaving the tops], the crumb extracts a bit of moisture from the cream.
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crumb → expose → cream
It holds together a bit better, so you don’t get so much of that squidging out the sides [when slicing].”
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you → hold → sides
If I had to be really pedantic, cut a piece of sponge [straight from the fridge], let it sit for five minutes.
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it → have → minutes
Top ‘n’ fill
Beatrix’s cakehouse (aka cake cabinet) was always stocked with a seasonal sponge that changed weekly.
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that → stock → sponge
…and 52 more, not listed.
The Aporia
