Sponge Cake I is a traditional British recipe, based on Robert Kemp Philp's recipe of 1859, for a classic sponge cake made from sugar, eggs, flour and caraway seeds. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Sponge Cake I.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian sponge cake that's derived from Robert Kemp Philp's 1859 volume, The Dictionary of Daily Wants. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
l. Take sixteen ounces of finely-powdered loaf sugar, eight eggs, and twelve ounces of dried and sifted flour; then whisk the eggs, yolks and whites, nearly half an hour; beat in the sugar with a horn spoon, and, just before it is to be put into a buttered tin, stir in the flour lightly, adding a few caraway seeds. Bake it for one hour.
Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk briskly for about 20 minutes, or until very pale and frothy (10 minutes if using a machine). Add the sugar and beat to combine. Sift the flour into a separate bowl and just before it's time to bake lightly stir the flour and caraway seeds into the egg mix.
Turn into a greased and floured springform cake tin, set in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through and golden (a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should emerge cleanly). Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
1. Loaf sugar, 1lb.; eggs, 8; flour, 12 ozs.; caraway seeds, a few.