Comfort Food: Vanilla Sponge Cake

I can only bake about three things – one of them is this cake. Hardly a birthday goes by at the Superbalist HQ without it. The super-simple recipe was handed down to me by my cousin and quickly became my sweet treat of choice for celebrating with family, friends and colleagues. The secret to baking it for every occasion without eventually disappointing everyone who had a slice at the last birthday? Switch up the toppings and they’ll never know!

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SERVES: 6 to 8 people

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

BAKE TIME: 50 minutes

250g margarine

1½ cups of sugar

4 eggs

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and grease a baking tin.
2. In a big mixing bowl, mix the margarine and the sugar (I mix it together with a wooden spoon, but you can use a cake mixer)
3. Add the eggs and stir in
4. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) into the bowl using a sieve. Stir in.
5. Add the vanilla essence to the cup of milk and pour into the mixture.
6. Beat until smooth.
7. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and place it in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour.
8. Once the cake has cooled down, remove it from the tin and place it onto a large plate.
9. For the topping, a simple dust of icing sugar works really well. Sometimes, I like to top it with fresh whipped cream and whatever fruit I have at home. The sponge is light and delicate and works well with most things.

Serve with a nice strong cup of English Breakfast tea.