Vanilla Sponge Cake
Light, sweet, and scrumptious with lashings of strawberry syrup and vanilla buttercream.
Ingredients
2 cups Self Raising Flour
1 1/2 cups Castor (Superfine) Sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Milk
2 tbsp Butterspread or Margarine Melted, but cool
2 tsp Vanilla Essence/flavouring
Method
Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, and mix until just combined. Add vanilla ( and any other flavourings you wanted to add).
Alternate adding flour and milk in about 1/3 of a cup measures at a time, mixing until just combined.
Mix on medium high for 2 minutes, and bake for about an hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Notes
Cooking times will vary, so check your cake at 60 minutes. It’s done when the centre is bouncy, or a skewer comes out clean.
VariationsChocolate Sponge (a light mild flavoured Chocolate Sponge) – add 2 Tablespoons of high quality Cocoa Powder into flour, and add as usual.
Caramel – Exchange Caster Sugar, for Raw Caster Sugar (this adds subtle honey flavour), and add a few drops of flavouring. I like using Roberts Confectionary oils.
Shelf LifeSponge cakes do tend to stale fairly quickly, because of their soft crumb. You can safely get 3 days from a sponge before it starts to get a bit chewy.
Sponges taste better covered, and kept at room temperature, but refrigerate if you are using cream, or other perishable fillings.
This recipe is NOT recommended for carving or sculpted cakes.