Of Cakes and Birthdays

So it was my cousin's sixth birthday yesterday. Of course I baked a cake. A vanilla sponge at that.

Lately I have come to appreciate (and enjoy) cakes sans frosting or any other fancy decorations better. Just single-layered cakes dusted with some good ol' icing sugar. And sprinkles.
There is something so endearing about simple cakes which are a breeze to make and are powerhouse of flavour and texture. Yum!

Vanilla sponge has been my personal favourite since I was a kid. The beautiful lemony shade of yellow, the heavenly aroma of vanilla and the fluffy texture spell bliss for every cake lover.

So when my cousin Jacob's birthday came knocking, I knew vanilla sponge it had to be. And it was a complete winner at the party too!

Kindly ignore the gaping hole in the middle. It was a result of my brother's over-zealous attempt at helping me check whether the cake is cooked.

I would have loved to show you the lovely yellow hue of the cake but since I had to take it to the b'day party, I couldn't.
But hey! that shouldn't stop you from baking this glorious cake and filling your house with the heady smell of vanilla.

Here's the recipe.

Vanilla Sponge Cake

butter 100g, melted + extra for greasing
flour 1 1/2 cup
baking powder 1 tsp
eggs 6
caster sugar 1 cup
vanilla extract 1 tsp
icing sugar to dust

• Preheat oven to 165 C. Grease a 8-inch round cake tin with butter.
• Sieve the flour and baking powder and keep aside. Beat the eggs and sugar with the vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
• Gently fold in the flour mixture so that the air bubbles are retained (this is a very crucial step as over-mixing  will result in a hard cake).
• Add the melted butter and fold gently.
• Pour the batter in the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool then dust with icing sugar. You can use sprinkles of your choice too.

Happy baking caking!