A Classic Sponge Cake (with Passion-fruit Filling)

This sponge cake could also be made in a 7 inch (18 cm) tin (just use two eggs and 4 oz/115 g each of flour, sugar and butter). It can then be filled with jam and cream. And while the soft fruits of summer, when they're available, are perfect for filling sponge cakes, in winter, passion fruit fulfil all the criteria needed, ie, something sharp, fragrant and acidic to contrast with the richness of the cake and cream.

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  Serves 8

Ingredients
For an 8 inch (20 cm) cake:
6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs at room temperature
6 oz (175 g) very soft butter
6 oz (175 g) golden caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
a little sifted icing sugar, for dusting
For the filling:
6 passion fruit
9 oz (250 g) mascarpone
1 level dessertspoon golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 fl oz (200 ml) fromage frais
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C).

Conversions
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Equipment
You will also need two 8 inch (20 cm) 1½ inch (4 cm) deep round sponge tins, lightly greased and the bases lined with silicone paper (parchment).

This recipe is taken from How to Cook Book One and Delia's Complete How To Cook

Method

Take a very large mixing bowl, put the flour and baking powder in a sieve and sift it into the bowl, holding the sieve high to give it a good airing as it goes down. Now all you do is simply add all the other cake ingredients (except the icing sugar) to the bowl and, provided the butter is really soft, just go in with an electric hand whisk and whisk everything together until you have a smooth, well-combined mixture, which will take about 1 minute. If you don't have an electric hand whisk, you can use a wooden spoon, using a little bit more effort. What you will now end up with is a mixture that drops off a spoon when you give it a tap on the side of the bowl. If it seems a little too stiff, add a little water and mix again.