Learn2Bake June Challenge – Part 1 – Sponge Cake

This month there are 2 challenges again as the club is celebrating Happy Father's Day on the 20^th June. So, we are being asked to make Sponge Cake from scratch, meaning not using any Sponge Cake mix. I personally like to make Sponge Cake from scratch although sometimes, when I'm in a hurry, or when I'm feeling super lazy, then I'll opt for the Sponge Mix method. We are also being challenge to decorate the cake for an occasion, so it has to be with frosting. As most of us already knew that sponge cake can be used or….should I say compliment in a lot of other bakings too, such as using it as a base for cheesecake, using in desserts setting like trifle and many more. I have decided to make my Vanilla Sponge Cake into a heart-shaped , decorate it with Raspberry Cream Cheese frosting and topped with Chocolate shavings……and present it for all the Learn2Bake Club members who are celebrating their birthdays in June……..as I knew there are quite a number of them. I also used the leftover cut-out sponge cake to make some Mango Trifles for dessert, not wanting to waste it.
The Vanilla Sponge Cake recipe this time was taken from Creative Cake Decorating.com as you can check it out here too.

 VANILLA SPONGE CAKE

(makes a 7 inch Square tin / 8 inch Round tin)
Ingredients:
130gm Self Raising flour
¼ tsp baking powder
4 eggs, separated
¼ tsp cream of tartar
A pinch of salt
180gm castor sugar
60gm butter, melted
60ml water
1 tsp vanilla essence


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170degree Celcius.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, 2-3 times and set aside.
3. Whisk egg white with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add in sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
4. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks, butter, water and vanilla essence. Fold into egg whites and combine well.
5. Finally fold in the dry ingredients and make sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared greased cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or the cake skewer inserted to the centre, comes out clean. The cake is done when the top springs back when gently pressed.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely on the rack before decorating.

I have chosen to frost my cake with 'Raspberry Cream Cheese Buttercream' as I want the frosting in between the sandwiched cake to contrast a little colour instead of just plain cream cheese buttercream. I also shaved some bittersweet chocolate for the topping and a cherry for décor. The buttercream recipe was also taken from Creative Cake Decorating.com and I did a little adjustment by adding a teaspoon of Raspberry Jam.

 Raspberry Cream Cheese Buttercream (Half Batch)
Ingredients:
180gm cream cheese, softened at room temperature
45gm butter, softened
100gm icing sugar, sifted twice
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 – 2 tsp Raspberry jam / Raspberry pie filling (add according to your own preference)
Some bittersweet cooking chocolate for shaving and decoration

 Method:

1. Beat cream cheese until softened.
2. Add in butter and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Add icing sugar a little at a time and beat well. Add vanilla essence and continue beating until mixture is smooth and creamy.
4. Add in the raspberry jam / pie filling and mix well using a spatula, and ready to frost. This buttercream can be used as a filling for sandwich cakes or to frost the sides and top of a cake.

For me, I used it as a filling for my sandwich 'heart-shaped' vanilla sponge cake. To get the heart-shaped cake, I cut the sponge cake into 2 layers, and using a heart shape cookie cutter (4 inches) to cut out the shape. Then spread the buttercream evenly on the cake and sandwich it together, mine was a 3 layer sandwich cake. Then using a cheese grater, shave some cooking chocolate to be placed on top of the cake for decoration. Voila……….ready to serve ^-^

 

Happy Sponge Cake baking !