Baking has been so much fun and I have been enjoying learning the nuances of baking. Like most skills, it just gets better with practise. One of our friends in Scotland wanted to learn some baking from me, not that I am an expert. However, I thought I could certainly help a beginner baker else I should not be blogging about it right. He wanted to try the simple Victorian sponge and preferred to do it with the egg. I am so spoilt with low calorie and healthy baking that in some ways I thought I am incapable of making with egg, butter and all purpose flour in it. Somehow I could not accept that despite being a food blogger, I can only do certain types of baking and not others. So it I took the opportunity to try my hands on a recipe that is not meant for anyone who is calorie conscious. Although the eggs get beaten, I chose not to use the mixer as I thought my friend will very well manage beating with hands and what better than being hands on while learning to bake. He sure did a good job as the sponge certainly was spongy! It was a very neat bake and the sponge was appreciated by everyone who got to taste it. I started checking if the cake was done after about 25 minutes. Usually it is said that you can start checking after about 20 minutes, but if oven is opened before that the cake may just sink and not rise due to the cold draft of air. Sticking in a skewer in the middle of the cake to check if it comes out clean would indicate if cake is done. You may want to rest the cake in the oven, turned off, for few minutes to complete the last bit of cooking. Usually sponge cakes are made in two identical sandwich tins. I had only one tin so chose to bake in my cake tin and cut it into half to put the jam filling.
150g butter
150g self rising flour
150g sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon milk
Preheat oven to 180degC
Line a cake tin with baking paper on bottom and grease with oil or butter on sides and the paper
Cream the sugar and butter together until soft
Add one egg at a time and beat until incorporated. Using wooden spoon is enough. Repeat with all eggs and beat the mixture until it is nice and soft. Add the essence towards the end
Sift the flour and baking powder and fold into the butter-sugar egg mixture. Do not overmix. If the batter is not to spooning consistency add little milk but again do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared tin. Drop the tin from about 4 inches height about ten times to get rid of any excess air bubbles
Bake for 35-40 minutes (until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean). You may need to rest the cake for five minutes with oven off and oven door closed
Rest the cake for further five minutes outside the oven before removing from cake tin. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely before cutting it into half
You could decorate this cake straight or just cut it into to and put a filling of jam or chocolate or whipped cream and serve with fruits.
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