Featherlight Cream Sponge Cake
Cook Time 60 minutes plus cooling
Servings make 1 cake
Ingredients
Cooking oil spray
180g egg white + 100g egg yolk (from approx. 6 eggs)
¼ tsp cream of tartar
160g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour, plus extra for the tins
30g custard powder
⅛ tsp fine sea salt
15g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g/ml full-fat (whole) milk
½ tsp vanilla paste
Filling
Jam or curd of choice – around 200g
300g cream (35% milk fat)
5g vanilla paste
Passionfruit Sour Cream Glaze
200g icing sugar mixture
60-80g full-fat sour cream
2 tbsp passionfruit pulp
Freeze dried fruit, to decorate (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly spray two 20 cm (8 in) round, 5 cm (2 in) cake tins with non-stick cooking spray and line the bases only with baking paper, spray again. Lightly dust the sides of the tins with a little extra flour and tap out the excess.
Weigh the flour, custard powder and salt together, sift twice and set aside with a sieve for later. Weigh the butter, milk and vanilla and set aside in the microwave to heat right before adding to the batter.
Whip the egg white and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer until the whites change from foamy to a stiff and creamy white. Once glossy, gradually add the sugar to make shiny and super stiff meringue.
Take the mixer off the machine and fold the egg yolk in by hand. Sift half the flour mix over the foam, then fold in with a balloon whisk until it is well incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Heat the milk/butter until steamy and fold using gentle but decisive folding strokes until the batter is well mixed but still fluffy. Halve the batter between the tins (300g each for perfectly even layers), shake to even out and bake for 15 - 18 minutes until light golden and springy to touch.
Remove the cakes from the oven. Cool in the tins on a wire rack for 2 minutes, then gently cut around the sides of the cakes and flip them out onto the rack and remove the paper. Cool for 40 minutes.
Shave the top crust off both sponges. Smooth a generous dollop of jam or lemon curd over the base sponge. Whip the cream and vanilla to billowy soft, pile it on and smooth to the edges. Sandwich the second sponge on bottom side up. Wrap the filled sponge and chill for a few hours in advance to allow the layers to become friends.
Just before serving. Hand whisk enough sour cream into the icing sugar mix to make a stiff-ish glaze. Add some passionfruit pulp and combine. Smooth over the top and sprinkle some more freeze dried fruit on top (optional).
