Fatless Sponge Recipe
Ingredients
| 60 g/2 oz caster sugar | ||
| Eggs | 2 | |
| 60 g/2 oz self-raising flour | ||
| Vanilla essence | 1/4 Teaspoon | |
Directions
Grease and lightly flour two 15 cm/6 inch sandwich-tins, or one 20 cm/8 inch tin.
For best results, the ingredients should all be at room temperature.
Put the sugar and eggs into a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.
Whisk the mixture until it is pale, fluffy and a clear trail is left on the surface when the whisk is lifted.
Remove the bowl from the pan and continue to whisk until the mixture is cool; this is an important step, for if the flour is added to the warm mixture the result will be heavy.
Sift the flour once, then sift again over the egg mixture.
Gently fold in the flour with a metal spoon, using a figure-of-eight movement.
Don't overmix, or all the air laboriously beaten into the mixture will be lost.
Add the vanilla as you finish folding in the flour.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins (if used), level off the top and bake both (on the same shelf) at 180°C/ 350°F/Gas Mark 4.
It will need 18-20 minutes if in two tins or 20-25 minutes for the single cake.
Even if you have made a single cake, it should be treated as a sandwich cake and split so that you can fill it with whipped cream, jam or fresh fruits.
For best results, the ingredients should all be at room temperature.
Put the sugar and eggs into a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.
Whisk the mixture until it is pale, fluffy and a clear trail is left on the surface when the whisk is lifted.
Remove the bowl from the pan and continue to whisk until the mixture is cool; this is an important step, for if the flour is added to the warm mixture the result will be heavy.
Sift the flour once, then sift again over the egg mixture.
Gently fold in the flour with a metal spoon, using a figure-of-eight movement.
Don't overmix, or all the air laboriously beaten into the mixture will be lost.
Add the vanilla as you finish folding in the flour.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins (if used), level off the top and bake both (on the same shelf) at 180°C/ 350°F/Gas Mark 4.
It will need 18-20 minutes if in two tins or 20-25 minutes for the single cake.
Even if you have made a single cake, it should be treated as a sandwich cake and split so that you can fill it with whipped cream, jam or fresh fruits.
Chef
