Sponge Cake is one of my favourite cakes. The lightness of this cake makes it so enjoyable that it is often difficult to stop at just one slice. That’s why I often will have a second little slice.

The key to a successful sponge cake is two-fold in my opinion. A powerful whisk and a gentle hand are imperative, no matter how contradictory it sounds. A powerful whish will help give the eggs and sugar lots of volume while a gentle hand will ensure you don’t knock back this volume when folding in the flour. This volume in turn will be the driving force behind a well-risen cake.

While normally I enjoy a plain sponge cake with a raspberry jam and fresh cream filling, sometimes I add flavour. In this instance, I added lemon zest to the cake batter and swapped the jam for lemon curd. The fresh cream could be jazzed up too with lemon zest and/or a dash of limoncello.

Hope you enjoy!

Amy x

Ingredients
6 eggs
6oz caster sugar
2 tsp yellow food colouring
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of one lemon
6oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method
Grease and line two 8/9″ cake tins.Preheat the oven to 180C.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs until thick.

Gradually beat in the sugar, food colouring, vanilla and lemon.

By hand, carefully fold in the sfted flour and baking powder.

Divide between the two tins and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely in the tins before removing and sandwiching together with lemon curd and fresh cream.