If you love baking, you should have a recipe for a basic vanilla sponge cake in your repertoire.And this is it! The best ever Sponge Cake. It is light and fluffy , befitting the title of sponge and worthy of its own tea party. It’s a Plain Jane kind of cake, which makes it a perfect canvas for adding the flavour of your choice by way of filling and topping. I usually make this into a layer cake filled with whipped cream, and a lemon or passionfuit curd, and whatever fruit is in season. At the very least, when I am at my laziest , simply filled with jam and cream and dusted with icing sugar. Simple, yes? But no less delicious.

Naked Sponge — Naked and looking spongy. Filled with whipped cream & passion fruit,then dusted with a bit of icing sugar…

The following is based on a recipe from Australian Women’s Weekly Magazine, published a long long time ago. I have tried other versions over the years, but this is the one I keep coming back to, due to its simplicity and spectacular results. I tend to use 3 by 15cm round cake tins because thats what I have and when stacked together , I like the height. Of course, you can also use 2 by 20 cm round cake tins. Just remember to adjust the cooking times.

Sliced sponge — Lightly iced and filled with jam

What you need…

Pantry Staples – Eggs, Butter, Caster Sugar, Self Raising Flour , baking powder (yes baking powder) , vanilla essence and Cornflour
Filling – Passionfruit or Lemon Curd, any kind of Jam, fruits like raspberries blueberries and strawberries
Thickened Cream vanilla and caster sugar to make whipped cream

Easy does it…

Have the eggs and butter at room temperature. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Line baking tins with baking paper.
If filling with passionfruit curd, make the curd first so it has time to cool down. The curd should be chilled before using it to top the cream, or you will have a big mess in your hands. OR use store bought!
Use a mixer to beat the eggs vanilla and caster sugar until pale and frothy, about 10 minutes. It is very important to beat the mixture well for maximum lift and volume.
Sift self raising flour baking powder and cornflour together into a piece of baking paper two times.

Birthday Cake — Same cake, different occasion; makes a great birthday cake!

Remove bowl from mixer(if using a stand mixer) and sift the flour mixture over it. Triple sifting aerates the flour and mixes the baking powder and the flours thoroughly .
Add butter to the boiling water. Drizzle this onto the mixing bowl. Why boiling water? Traditionally, the Genoise sponge was made over a pot of simmering water. The hot water dissolves the sugar crystals better and denatures the proteins in the eggs allowing it to hold unto more air. So, it’s all for the sake of a lighter texture.
Use a spatula to fold the flour mixture gently into the egg mix. Do not over mix. Divide batter equally into the baking tins.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when pressed.
Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the whipped cream. Fill cake layers with jam and cream . Lightly ice top and sides with whipped cream. Bling with fruits of your choice. Strawberries,Raspberries,Passionfruit are all great options, whatever you fancy really.