Simple Sponge Cake

We bake this cake every time a simple yet celebratory dessert is needed. The recipe comes together easily and little hands can help with the toppings. We've added a few tips at the end for decoration options, there's lots of room to be creative and have fun! This recipe yields 2 9" cakes or 1 double layered cake. 

Simple Sponge Cake
6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup (140 g) Flourist Sifted Red Fife Flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Lemon Syrup 
2 lemons, preferably organic and well washed
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

Assembly
Whipped cream
Decorations such as fresh fruit, flowers, shaved chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl of a standing mixer, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The eggs will be thicker and a creamy yellow colour.

In a small bowl, mix together Flourist Sifted Red Fife Flour, baking powder and salt. Incorporate 1/3 of the flour mixture into the eggs, folding gently with a rubber spatula and scraping the bottom of the bowl to fully integrate any pockets of flour. Repeat two more times and stop mixing once all of the dry flour is incorporated, over-mixing will cause the cake to deflate. 

Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and slide into the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until the top is just starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and set on cooing racks. 

To make the lemon syrup, use a vegetable peeler to peel off wide strips of lemon skin from both lemons. Try to get only the yellow part as the white pith will make the syrup bitter. Juice both lemons into a small pot and add sugar, heat together on medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, turn down heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Add lemon zest and turn off heat, set aside to cool. Remove the zest and if desired, slice very thinly into strips to use as decoration. This recipe yields more syrup than needed, and extras can be stored in the fridge and use d to sweeten beverages, drizzle over pancakes or make lemonade etc.

To assemble cakes, release the sponge cake from the pans and remove parchment paper. Lay each cake on a serving plate and brush abundantly with lemon syrup. The lemon syrup adds flavour and also will keep the cakes moist. Top with a generous amount of whipped cream and spread with an offset spatula. Arrange decorations on top as you wish. 

Note: Get creative with the cake decorations! We like to experiment with different things from the pantry (nuts, seeds, coconut, dried or freeze-dried fruit, chocolate) and fresh fruits and herbs. Try browsing the candy or chocolate aisles at the store for additions like toffee, meringue or chocolate coated nuts (we've also crushed up old Halloween and Easter treats before). It can also be as simple as snipping a few flowers and leaves from the garden, just make sure they are removed before serving.