In the 1980s, my brother Godfrey used to make sponges using this recipe, which came from the local public health nurse, Ailsa Gathergood. Godfrey, then a sheep farmer, busy entrepreneur and father of five, reckoned the secret was to ‘beat the s–t out of it’. Use electric beaters, even if you have forearms honed by wrangling sheep and small kids.
Ingredients
- 4 free-range eggs, separated
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup cornflour (use maize cornflour to make this gluten-free)
- 1 tsp baking powder
To serve
- 1 cup cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup jam
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
Serves 6-8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Method
Grease a round 22cm cake tin, then line the base and sides with baking paper. Line the sides so that there is a collar of paper standing 3cm proud of the tin (this will support the risen sponge as it cooks).
Beat the egg whites and salt until stiff. Keep beating as you gradually add the sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time. Continue beating until the sugar has dissolved and you no longer feel little grains of it when you rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
Sift the cornflour and baking powder over the top and gently fold into the egg mixture with a large metal spoon. You want to keep as much air in the mixture as possible, so be thorough but gentle. The last thing you want is little pockets of cornflour through the sponge like a tissue in the washing.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and place it in a cold oven. (There’s no misprint here — the sponge goes into a cold oven.) Turn the oven to 155°C and bake for 27–30 minutes. The sponge is done when it is shrinking away from the sides of the tin and feels springy to the touch.
As soon as you take it out of the oven, drop it on the floor. Then let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully turning out on to a rack to cool completely.
When you’re ready to serve, slice the cooled sponge in half horizontally. Whip the cream and vanilla to soft peaks. Spread each sponge half with the jam and arrange the bottom half on a serving plate. Dollop the cream on top of the bottom half and set the remaining half on top. Sift a cloud of icing sugar over the top.
Sponges are best eaten the day they are made, though unfilled sponge halves can be wrapped well in cling film and frozen for another day.
Recipe extracted from Homecooked Seasonal Recipes for Every Day by Lucy Corry,
Penguin, RRP $55
