A Decadent Strawberry Vanilla Sponge Cake

Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes Servings: 12 servings Ingredients For the sponge cake 6 large or extra large eggs, room temperature 1 cup white sugar 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 cup flour, sifted 2 tbsp melted salted butter Jilfoods Vanilla Strawberry Jam For the vanilla glaze 1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar) ½ tsp vanilla extract A little bit of milk Method For the sponge cake 1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper but don’t grease the sides. Greasing the sides will not allow the cake to rise well. 2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with a whisk attachment, combine the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract, and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is foamy and pale in colour. 3. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium-low and with the mixer running, continuously sprinkle in rounded tablespoons of the flour. Stop the mixer as soon as the flour is fully incorporated. 4. Remove 1 to 2 cups of the sponge cake batter and mix it with the melted butter. 5. Immediately add this mixture back into the main batter, folding it in very gently with a rubber spatula. Make sure the butter mixture is fully mixed in but be careful not to over mix the batter. 6. Pour the batter into the prepared spring form pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the top springs back fully when pressed lightly. Watch this cake closely as it will over bake easily. Start checking it at the 40 minute mark. 7. Cool the cake completely IN THE PAN for at least a couple of hours before carefully and slowly running a sharp knife around the outside edge of the pan to release the cake from the sides. 8. Release the sides of the spring form pan and peel the parchment paper off the bottom of the cake before placing it on the serving plate. 9. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the cake in half, horizontally to form 2 equal layers. 10. Spread the bottom layer with a generous amount of Jilfoods Vanilla Strawberry Jam before adding the top layer and spreading on the vanilla glaze. To prepare the vanilla glaze 1. Mix together the icing sugar, vanilla extract and a couple of teaspoons of milk at a time until the glaze comes together into a thick but pourable consistency. Add a little more icing sugar if it gets too thin. 2. Spread evenly over the surface of the cake, pushing it gently over the edges to let it drizzle down the sides. Source: www.rockrecipes.com For more information about Jilfoods, visit their Facebook page.