Sugar Crust Sponge

Phil the kiwi's Note:

This is my favourite cake recipe and is so easy. Other sponge cakes seem to fall flat or feel heavy but if you follow this recipe you'll get the best sponge ever. This recipe came from a New Zealand Your home & garden from way back in March 2004, I've been making it ever since but thought it might be about time I put it on the net in case I ever lost my copy.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

cake

• 110 g flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 medium eggs, at room temp
• 125 g caster sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for the cream
• 1 lemon, zest of

assembling cake

• 200 ml cream
• 1 small piece vanilla pod (or essence or paste to taste)
• 1 tablespoon red currant jelly
• 3/4 cup mixed berries (optional) or 3/4 cup golden kiwifruit and green grape (optional)

cake tin preparation

• butter or margarine, for greasing
• caster sugar
• flour

Directions:

1. TIN PREPARATION (VERY IMPORTANT).
2. Lightly grease a 21cm wide, 5 - 6cm deep, cake tin. Put a disc of baking paper on the bottom, also grease this.
3. Put one heaped tablespoon (maybe more) of caster sugar in tin and shake it around to coat the bottom and sides, tap out excess.
4. Repeat with same amount of flour and tap out excess. If tin is not non-stick, also line the sides with paper.
5. Preheat oven to 170degrees Celsius.
6. MAKING THE CAKE.
7. 1. Sift the flour and salt onto a piece of greaseproof paper. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk with a hand held beater until they are frothy, then whisk in the sugar, a tablespoon at a time.
8. 2. Whisk until the mixture is pale and thick. Continue whisking until it forms "ribbons" when you stop beating and lift the beaters out of the mixture (the mixture will fall off the beater in a thick trail).
9. 3. Sift the flour (again) over the top and fold it into the whipped eggs, along with the lemon zest, using a large spoon or rubber scraper. Use the spoon to lift up mixture from the sides of the bowl, then let it cascade over the top. Do not beat as this will knock out the air.
10. 4. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 15 - 20 minutes (regular bake not fanbake) in the preheated oven, or until the cake is springy to the touch and is just starting to pull away from the sides of the tin (it may take as long as 25 minutes, but is better to keep the sponge soft and moist).
11. 5. Cool five minutes in the tin then turn out onto a cooling rack and peel off the paper. Let the sponge cool thoroughly before assembling the cake.
12. ASSEMBLY.
13. 1. Whip the cream with the sugar and seeds from vanilla pod (or essence or paste).
14. 2. Gently melt the redcurrant jelly over a gentle heat with the berries (if frozen heat till thawed and warm).
15. 3. Split the sponge in half with a breadknife and fill with the cream. Brush the top of the cake with hot juices/melted jelly then arrange fruit on top.
16. The sponge is best eaten on the day it is made soon after assembly but keep it refrigerated if you must make it ahead.