I Heart My Mama

My Mama’s birthday was in the middle of a very hectic holiday schedule.  Luckily, now on my 6^th birthday cake I know my strengths and weaknesses.  Sponge cake is now my specialty.  And judging from the amount of cake my family eats, I decided a relatively small one will be more than adequate.  I chose a small heart shaped pan for the sponge.  I only had one pan so I had to bake it twice.  I always line the bottom with parchment paper so the cake can slide out easily.  The heart came out of the oven so fluffy and light! 

Since it was a relatively simple cake I wanted to make the filling special.  I drained a can of peaches and a can of lychee and cut them into bite sized pieces.  I whipped up some cream and sugar and put that aside.   As soon as the sponge cake layers cooled, I spooned a generous amount of whipped cream and fruit filling in the middle and frosted the cake. 

Due to the small surface area of the heart shaped sponge cake, I put too much filling in and found it hard to hide the imperfections with the whipped cream.

I looked around at what I had in the kitchen and found some ribbon that I was able to wrap around the cake.  It looked especially good because it accented the heart shape of the cake. 

When my Mama saw the cake, she said it looked great.  She also loved the peach and lychee filling and the light sponge cake.  Most importantly, she said look at how much money we saved this year by making our own birthday cakes!

Sponge Cake

1 Cup Cake Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

6 Eggs separated @ room temperature

1/2 Tsp cream of tartar

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Vanilla

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Water

1/3 Cup Oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F

2. Sift flour and baking powder

3. In a large bowl combine egg yolk, salt, vanilla and 6 Tbsp of sugar.  Whisk until ribbon state.

4. Stir in water and oil and again whisk well.

5. Fold in flour but don't over-mix.

6. In another large bowl combine egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Beat until stiff.

7. Fold a third of the egg whites into the batter and mix gently until blended.

8. Fold in the rest.

9. Pour batter into paper lined pans and bake until golden brown about 45 min.