HERE IT IS....PERFECT SPONGE SECRET RECIPE

I know ...Iknow...i have taken long enough to put the recipe on the blog...but i had to grieve first about giving it up as it was my secret, passed down through the portoles of time..

heirloom of the family..secret recipe you know!!!!!

Did you not see how i copped it from my daughter for giving away the family secret recipes?????

Anyway here it is.... my great sacrifice of 2009....

You will need..

4 farm fresh eggs(large ones)..leave to reach room temperature(never straight from the fridge)

3/4 cup Castor sugar

pinch of salt

Separate the egg whites(save yolks in small dish) into a clean dry glass deep bowl, add the pinch of salt and beat till they form stiff peaks that stand on their own.

Slowly add sugar sprinkling a tablespoon at a time and beating at high speed till all is added and it looks like pavlova mix.

Add yolks one at a time and beating well between additions...

Now

Sift the ingredients below at least twice into a bowl...(this aerates the dry ingredients thus making the sponge light & fluffy)

1/2 cup cornflour

1/2 cup of a good custard powder(I use Foster Clarks...why not???)

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

When well sifted slowly fold into the mixture..DO NOT BEAT.

this will make two round sponges or one big square one .....

Spray the tin and line with baking paper (i just put a strip through the tin cross wise both ways, spraying in between the two strips so its sticks.)

Pop onto the middle shelf in a 180 oC pre-heated oven for 30 -35 minutes...

Sponge is cooked when touched in the middle and springs back or starts to leave the sides.

Take the cooked sponge from the oven ....allow to stand ..covered with a dry tea towel for at least 10 minutes ..run a knife around the inside edge of the tin to loosen the sponge.... turn out the cooked sponge onto a clean dry tea towel and wrap it in the tea towel till it cools...(this stops the sponge from drying on the edges and keeps it moist.).... then cut, cream and decorate...

EXTRA Tips for the perfect sponge which will ensure it turns out perfect.

Did you know that the deeper your cake tin..... the higher the sponge will rise....

Always try to use fresh eggs which weigh at least 60grams or more each(this is the Xtra large egg from the supermarket)

(Oh if you can get duck eggs ...just use three ...they make the best sponges)

Always allow the eggs to reach room temperature before making the sponge.

The dish must be glass or metal and perfectly clean and dry with no trace of water or grease...never use a plastic mixing bowl...

Always beat the egg whites till they form stiff peaks and stand on their own.

Make sure you sift the dry ingredients at least twice and only fold them gently into the wet mixture till they are just through.

Possible Causes of a Failed sponges.

Opening the oven door to check the sponge before at least 30 minutes..this causes it to sink

Egg yolk breaking and getting into whites..they will not whip up.

Grease in the bowl or on the beater blades.

Oven not at right temperature.

Cake too high or too low on the oven shelving.

Over stirring or beating dry ingredients into wet mixture.

Hard crust on outer sides of sponge...overcooking.

Shallow cake tins...they dont allow the sponge to rise enough..or the sponge flows over and spoils... so the deeper the cake tin the higher the cake rises...

The Chocolate Leaves

Find someone with a Camellia Bush in their garden and ask can you pick as many of the harder leaves as you want to make chocolate leaves..add a few extra as you are sure to break a couple!!!!

(these are usually the dark green ones..and they will keep for ages in a zip lock bag in the crisper.)...Wipe these leaves over ..especially the back of the leaf..as this is where you will put the chocolate.....

Select your favorite chocolate.....(can be just the cooking chocolate or i love the Old Jamaica flavor)

Place in a MW proof dish and melt in the MW for a couple of minutes till it is soft enough to stir almost liquid..... to make a glossy leaf add about a dessert spoon of copha to melt with the chocolate...

Using a teaspoon spread (i have been known to try a paint brush but find the spoon easier)the chocolate onto the BACK of the camellia leaf fairly thick (if you spread the chocolate too thin the leaves will break up when peeling them off)being careful to only go to the edges and not over them...they will break as you peel off the camellia leaves.

Place them on a tray and into the fridge to set..

When set ..gently peel off the leaf from the stalk end of the chocolate and there you have your chocolate leaves....

SEE.... TOLD YOU IT WAS EASY....Now have fun cooking everyone and i want to see pics of your achievements please....

especially on the New Year dinner table......

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL