Sponge Cake

Sponge Cake

This is a basic sponge cake recipe.  I was looking for a sponge cake recipe, and there are so many in googleland!  I decided to pick this from Gourmet Traveller September 2009.  There was a reason why I kept this magazine!

 

It turned out fluffy with a good crumb.  Being a non cream lover, I had a thin layer of cream, but the average Australian, I think, would expect more.  Thank you, Sonda for the duck eggs - the reason for the sponge cake.

 

Prep time 20 mins, cook 25 mins (plus cooling)

Serves 8-10

 

80 g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing

240 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

6 duck eggs (or 8 large eggs), at room temperature

220 g (1 cup) caster sugar

scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean

 

Strawberry jam

Whipped cream

 

1. Preheat oven to 180C.  Brush two 20cm diameter cake tins with melted butter, line bases with baking paper, dust sides with flour.

2. Triple-sift flour and set aside.

3. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla seeds in an electric mixer til thick, pale and tripled in volume (7-8 minutes).  Transfer to a mixing bowl.

4. Sift over flour in three batches, folding each batch in with a large metal spoon.

5. Fold in melted butter.

6. Divide evenly between tins, bake until light golden and centre springs back when pressed lightly with your fingertip (20-25 minutes).

7. Pull cake gently away from sides of tin with your fingers or carefully loosen with a knife.  Turn onto a wire rack, remove baking paper, turn back over, then cool completely.

8. Brush one cake with strawberry jam, spread with cream, sandwich with remaining cake, dust with icing sugar.  Serve and enjoy!