Have all the ingredients ready and measured before starting out ot ensure a successful baked sponge.

Ingredients

• 4x size 7 eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1¼ cups flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons hot water

Method

1. Place the oven rack in the centre of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Lightly grease a deep 20cm round cake tin.
2. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence with a pinch of salt until thick and creamy - about 10 minutes.
3. Working quickly, sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture. Use a slotted spoon to fold in, pouring the melted butter and hot water down the side of the bowl.
4. Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the sponge is elastic to the touch and shinking from the sides of the tin.
6. Turn out at once onto a cake rack to cool completely.
7. When cold, use a serrated knife to cut the cake in half or three layers horizontally. Sandwich the layers with whipped cream, jam or lemon honey and top with whipped cream or a thick dusting of icing sugar.

Cooks Tips

- The eggs will be thick and creamy when you can lift the beaters out of the mixture and draw a figure 8 with the mixture that falls off the beaters. If you can still see the figure 8 when you have finished drawing then the mixture is thick enough.

- Use your hand to fold the flour, butter and hot water into the whipped egg mixture. Hands are more gently and softer than a large spoon.

- Do not line the tins with paper or flour. Sponges have little fat and if the tins are protected with paper, the base and/or the sides of the sponges will have a moist, crustless appearance when the paper is removed. The exception to this is a Swiss roll.

- Do not stand a sponge in a draught when cooling as it will shrivel slightly.