Vanilla Sponge Cake

RecipenKitchen Recipe 50 min · Serves 10 · Continental

Why make it A soft, golden two-layer sponge sandwiched with strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream. It uses simple pantry ingredients and suits birthdays and afternoon tea.

You’ll need

Serves 10 200 g unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for greasing 200 g caster sugar 4 eggs, at room temperature 200 g plain flour (maida) 2 tsp baking powder 1 pinch fine salt 2 tsp vanilla extract 3 tbsp milk, at room temperature + 4 more in the full recipe

1 Step 1 of 9 Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Grease two 20 cm tins with butter and line the bases with baking paper.

2 Step 2 of 9 Beat 200 g soft butter and the caster sugar together for 4 minutes, until pale, light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl halfway.

3 Step 3 of 9 Whisk the eggs with 2 tsp vanilla in a jug. Add them to the butter mixture a little at a time, beating well after each addition so the batter does not curdle.

4 Step 4 of 9 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the batter. Fold in with a large spoon or spatula until just no dry flour is visible.

5 Step 5 of 9 Fold in the milk to loosen the batter. It should drop easily off the spoon. Divide evenly between the tins and level the tops. The last 4 steps are in the full recipe.

Cook’s tip Use soft butter that gives easily when pressed, but is not melted. Cold butter will not cream well and melted butter makes a dense cake.

Vanilla Sponge Cake

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