The easiest yummiest Sponge Cake

Do you have special dietary requirements in your family? We do and to complicate things somewhat, my boys are sensitive to different things. Trying to accomodate both of them is near impossible, so sometimes it means baking two different versions. Oh, I just need to add - the Kitchen and me - we have a rather strained relationship. So, I try to get in and out as quickly as possible :). 

One of the all time favourites in our home is this particular sponge cake. I have baked it many many times and everyone who has tasted it has loved it. (Either that, or I have seriously polite friends).

The best part for me - it's quick and easy.

Original Recipe:

175 grams self-raising flour

175 grams castor sugar

175 grams margarine 

3 eggs

5ml vanilla essence

To make this gluten and casein free, I substitute the flour with Orgran self-raising flour, and the margarine with Blossom Lite (dairy free) margarine.

Oven set to 180°C

Cream the sugar and the marge.

Beat in one egg at a time till smooth.

Add vanilla essence

Add the flour, folding it in with a spoon.

I use a small round non-stick cake pan and spray it with Spray And Cook (contains Soy lecithin)

Cooking time depends on your oven, but approximately 25 minutes to half an hour.

To ice:

Icing sugar

Add boiling water until you have correct consistency

If you want to, you can add a drop of almond essence to make a marzipan flavoured icing

Sprinkles (optional)

Or you could ice with cocoa icing - icing sugar with some cocoa added.

Recently I decided to start baking the cake without the margarine (to make it soya free too) and substituted the margarine with 175 ml of canola oil. It's a bit drier, but  it still works. 

PS. Recipes as you know are often passed along hand to hand, so I unfortunately don't know the original source of this one.

Enjoy!

PS. For my American readers, icing sugar is called confectioners or powdered sugar in the US (I think) :).  

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