BEST EVER HOT MILK SPONGE RECIPE

BEST EVER HOT MILK SPONGE RECIPE

Another great basic cake that can be made in different flavours, and dolled up or down for serving.

Ingredients

-4 extra-large eggs

-250g castor sugar (300ml)

-280g cake flour (500ml)

-15ml baking powder

-250ml milk

-100g butter or margarine (100ml)

-5ml vanilla essence

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas mark 4

grease the sides and base of 2 x 20cm cake tins. Line the bases with baking paper rounds, grease again.

Place eggs and sugar in electric food mixer bowl, and beat well together until thick and pale yellow in colour.

Sift dry ingredients: fold in carefully along the side of the bowl with a metal spoon or spatula.

Do not over-beat.

Heat milk and butter together for 2 minutes on 100% power; do not boil.

Add essence and milk mixture to batter, mixing carefully.

Take care not to over-beat, thus stretching the gluten in the flour.

Pour into prepared cake pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack.

When completely cold, sandwich together with raspberry or strawberry jam; and dust surface with sifted icing sugar or make up a vanilla butter icing; sandwich the two cakes together with a little butter icing; frost the top of the cake with remaining icing.

Makes 1 cake

Variations

Sandwich together with 250ml whipped cream and use a chocolate ganache icing on the top.

Remove 50ml cake flour, and add 50ml cocoa powder to make a chocolate sponge cake.

Add 30ml coffee powder to boiling milk mixture for a coffee cake.

Use fresh fruit and whipped cream for a decadent effect.

Tips

A great cake for children's birthday cakes.

If baking all in one pan, allow to bake for longer (40-45 minutes).

Cut cakes easily in half with a long thread of dental floss.

#sponge #cake #koek