Basics: Plain Sponge

Every budding baker should know how to make a basic sponge. For most of my cake recipes, you will undoubtedly recognise this recipe formula. It is versatile and can be altered easily to suit the purpose.

I get this basic cake recipe from an old cookbook my Mum used throughout my childhood. I'll be sure to update this post and credit it correctly when I have the chance.

Ingredients:

• 200g self-raising flour

• 4 medium eggs

• 200g softened unsalted butter (or cooking margarine)

• 200g caster sugar

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees/180 degrees fan/gas mark 6. Grease two round cake tins. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the eggs one by one. Add the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.

Next, sift in the flour and stir until the mixture is completely combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the two cake tins and cook for twenty minutes. Once completely cooked, you should be able to pierce the sponge with a skewer and for it to be clean when you remove it. If the skewer has cake batter stuck to it, cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

Leave the sponge to cool, then sandwich both cakes together using jam, buttercream or frosting.

N.B. My Mum's trick with cake baking is to weight your eggs first, then measure your other ingredients based on the weight of the eggs. So if an egg weights 65g and you use three, your butter, sugar and flour measurements should each be 195g. I go by the rule of 50g of flour, butter and sugar for each egg. Try both and see which one works for you.