RICOTTA AND AMARETTI CAKE

Put the raisins into a small bowl, pour in the brandy, cover and leave to steep; the longer you leave them, the better

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas4; line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper; melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave and stir in the crumbled amaretti biscuits

Press this mixture over the base of the prepared tin and bake for 10 minutes, until hardened; remove from the oven and leave to cool

Put the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk for 1-2 minutes on low-medium speed until they begin to froth; increase the speed to high and add half the caster sugar, little by little, whisking all the while, until the mixture becomes glossy and stiff

Put the ricotta and egg yolks into another bowl, add the remaining caster sugar and stir until smooth, stir in the flour and finally the raisins; gently fold in the egg whites and spread the mixture over the amaretti biscuits, level out the mixture

Bake for 1 hour until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle; if the top of the cake is browning too quickly, cover it with foil; remove from the oven and cool for 5-10 minutes; sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the top and use a blow torch or very hot grill to melt it so that you get patches of burnt, crisp sugar; cool then chill the cake for at least 3 hours or overnight before removing from the tin and serving