Fancy making a home-made cake, but don't know where to start. 1000's of recipes on-line, but feeling overwhelmed, and slightly intimidated. Well, don't fret, it's a lot easier than you may think.
Today, we will be sharing with you a basic, yet delicious, vanilla sponge cake recipe, and its the very first cake recipe we too were also taught. My mum shared this recipe with me when I was a child, and it's still our go-to recipe for a vanilla cake.
The great thing about this recipe is it's easy to remember, and you can top or fill it with a multitude of butter-creams, toppings and fillings, such as our Basic Vanilla Butter-Cream Frosting.
This recipe can either be evenly divided between 2x 8 inch round cake tins, or fill just one cake tin to make a single layer cake. A single layer cake will take a little longer to bake.
Equipment You Will Need:
Large Mixing Bowl
Measuring Scales
Wooden Spoon or Electric Hand Mixer or Freestanding Mixer
Silicone Spatula
2x 8 inch round baking tins or 1 is fine
Baking Parchment or Butter or Oil is fine
Oven
Wired Cooling Rack
Oven Safe or Heat Proof Gloves or Cloth
Ingredients You Will Need For A Basic Vanilla Sponge Cake:
7 oz of Soft room temperature Butter
7 oz of White Caster Sugar
7 oz of Self Raising Flour. Self Raising Flour can be replaced by Plain All Purpose Flour, but you will also have to use 1x heaped tea spoon of Baking Powder
3x large Eggs
Capful of Vanilla Extract
Dash of Milk
How To Bake A Basic Vanilla Sponge:
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 180c and line your cake tin base with parchment paper, or grease it with butter on the base and sides. Put your cake tin to one side.
Step 2
Weigh out all of your ingredients.
Step 3
In a large mixing bowl add your butter and sugar. Thoroughly beat together, using either a wooden spoon, hand held electric whisk, or a free-standing mixer.
If mixing by hand it will take a good 5 minutes, compared to an electric whisk which will take just a few minutes.
The butter and sugar should be fully combined, thick and fluffy. The creaming of the butter and sugar is a very important step and should not be skipped. This is the key to a light and fluffy cake.
Step 4
Now add your eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mix. Thoroughly whisk the eggs into the mixture until fully combined.
Either with a wooden spoon or electric hand whisk, or free-standing mixer.
Step 5
Add in the flour to your mixture, and thoroughly whisk again until fully combined.
Step 6
Add in the vanilla extract and a dash of milk. Give the cake batter it's final whisk, ensuring everything is fully combined, and the cake batter is smooth.
Step 7
Using your spatula evenly divide the cake batter between your lined cake tins.
Smooth the top with the spatula, and then tap your cake tin a few times on your work surface to help remove any air pockets.
Step 8
Carefully place your cake tins on the top shelf of your preheated oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. If using just one cake tin, the cake batter will take slightly longer to bake. Maybe 30 - 35 minutes.
Step 9
To check that the cake is fully baked you can do 1 of 2 things;
Carefully touch the centre of your cake and apply a little pressure. If the sponge springs back to shape, its baked. If it doesn't spring back, then it needs to bake longer.
Using a tooth pick or a small knife, pierce the centre of the cake. If when the object is removed and it's free from wet cake batter, then it is baked. If when removed it has wet cake batter on it, bake for longer.
Step 10
Once baked, turn off the oven and using oven gloves carefully remove the cake tins from the oven.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin.
Step 11
Carefully turn out your cakes on to the cooling rack. Remove the baking parchment from the base of the cake, and allow to fully cool.
CONGRATULATIONS! Your vanilla sponge cake is baked and ready to eat, or to decorate with your favourite flavour butter-cream, or toppings.
Kommentare