Basic Vanilla Sponge

If you had tried following the Basic Chocolate Sponge recipe, you will understand why I love it so much. It's light and airy, it won't put you on a guilt trip and most importantly, it's chocolatey yet not overwhelming! Because of which, it compliments anything from classic crème chantilly, fruits, nuts and of course, more chocolate! You might have already polish off a good half of the cake without knowing (always the case in my family)!
With each great chocolate cake recipe, there will, of course, always be an awesome vanilla equivalent. This is usually achieve by replacing the cocoa powder and putting back a slightly lesser amount of flour. In which case:
I had wanted to share the vanilla counterpart many moons ago, but after receiving feedback from a fellow baker that the recipe didn't work for her, I decided to hold back. It has always worked for me and I have no idea what went wrong. In any case, I worked on the recipe, focusing on the texture, test it over and over the past few months and this is what I arrived at.

Basic Vanilla Sponge (makes 8" Round)

Mixture A
     5       Egg Yolks
   60g     Castor Sugar

Mixture B

   40g     Milk
   70g     Corn Oil
     3g     Vanilla Extract

Mixture C
   75g     Top Flour
   25g     Corn Flour
     5g     Baking Powder

Mixture D
     5       Egg Whites
 100g     Castor Sugar

Preheat oven to 160ºC 
1. Grease and line the cake tin.
2. Stir (B) till homogeneous, reserve. Sift (C) and reserve.

3. Using a whisk attachment, whisk (A) till colour is pale and volume has doubled.

4. Reduce the speed of mixer and slowly add in Mixture (B) till combine. Add in Mixture (C) and whisk till batter is thick, smooth and lump-free. Transfer batter to another bowl, wash and clean mixer thoroughly.

5. Using the whisk attachment, start whisking the Egg Whites till before soft peaks and gradually add in the Sugar. Stop whisking when meringue turns glossy and just reaches stiff peaks.

6. Gently stir in 1/3 of the meringue into the batter to lighten the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining meringue with your hand (recommended) or preferred tool till no white spots can be seen.
7. Pour into prepared tin. For round tins, bake 40-45mins or till cake tester comes out clean. For rectangle/square tin, bake 30-35mins or till cake tester comes out clean.
8. Cool completely before frosting or slicing. I've tried cooling both upright and overturn, it didn't make any significant difference I can spot, so I think it's fine to use whichever way you find most convenient.





These photos are from the various occasions I made the sponge (for different applications). I've used this revised recipe 7 times and it worked beautifully every time so I feel comfortable enough to blog about it. As you can tell, my decorative skills still suck.










All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

Savour 2013

Finally! It's about time Singapore sees gourmet food festivals such as Savour!
Photo courtesy of Savour
Photo courtesy of Savour
If you had always find it a pain in the tush to find gourmet food in Singapore, I promise you will go crazy in Savour 2013. Boasting an area of 32,000 square meters over 2 storeys, an auditorium, a huge outdoor area and a total of 14,000 participants, you will never find more gourmet food gathered at one common location ever again (well, maybe for Savour 2014 =P). Divided into 3 activity areas, the Gourmet Market, Gourmet Village and the Gourmet Auditorium, there will definitely be something that is "your cuppa tea".
Photo courtesy of Savour
I will definitely lose myself among the top quality produce and products showcased in the Gourmet Market, some of which are highly challenging to find in Singapore! Be it wine, cheeses or fresh produce, I will gouge myself silly. Buy first, think later for you may never know when they might come by again. OK, maybe they'll come again next year but I'll have to wait for a year!! And there's Heston (by Waitrose), whose name is enough to make any amateur cooks/bakers orgas excited on hearing! Although it is different from dining at his restaurants, it is the closest I can get to unless I grab a ticket to London. There will also be some familiar local names such as Cake Over Heels, Windowsill Pies, Tiong Bahru Bakery and The Gourmet Pies Company. Be sure to check out SodaStream too, it will carbonate any drinks! Technically, you can even carbonate herbal chicken soup! OK..... maybe not.... that will taste funky! It'll still be fun to prank my sisters with! Hahahaha!

Photo courtesy of Savour
If cooking and baking is not your game, move onto the Gourmet Village where 18 award-winning restaurants is located. Over 25 chefs, many of whom are michelin starred, have created more than 60 signature dishes. Out of which, there will bound to be one (or many) that will excite your taste buds. When you find that dish, I say you discard that diet plan and feast on it. It's not every day that they cost between SGD6 to SGD18! Check out the menu! Look at all those sumptuously prepared, scrumptious dishes! Tell me you don't feel like onomnomnom-ing on them! Gosh, I am salivating over them already!

There is something embarrassing I have to admit about this great event though.......... I didn't know anything about Savour until a month ago! I came to know about it when another baking enthusiast was sharing details about Savour's Bake Off competition. That was the first time I heard about Savour and the first time I see a Bake Off competition of this scale in Singapore!! Can you imagine my excitement?! Of course, I had to support and submit one of my recipes. Well, subsequently I didn't garner enough facebook "LIKES" from family and friends to propel me into the Top 6 finalists (grr.. I need to add more friends!), which also means I wouldn't get a chance to bake for the judges. Weird as it seems, it wasn't the prizes but the thought of the prestigious judges chomping on one of my bakes that motivated me. I am still honoured and flattered that my humble recipe wooed the judges' and the organisers' hearts, earning me a place in the Top 10. I think that should at least be the Top 10% of the total submission, already is the cream of the crop right? *self-console* Muahahaha..
Photo courtesy of Savour
Photo courtesy of Savour
Savour's Bake Off is just one of the many exciting activities the organisers had put together. Other than the usual wine/cheese/coffee/tea appreciation workshops, there is an oysters, whiskey, chocolate and spices workshops! How cool is that? There's even a pastry & tea pairing one! You can also attend one of the many baking related demonstrations, they seem to have everything that you will want to learn. Bread, pies, cakes, chocolate creations, macarons and yes, even baklava. And of course, there are the Masterclass live demonstrations by some of the great chefs (some of them have "stars" too!), you didn't think I'll forget to share this, did you?
Photo courtesy of Savour
And the best part? All these workshops, live demonstrations and hands-on are complimentary! That's right, no extra charge! All you have to do is check up against their schedule and purchase the appropriate ticket. To make the deal even sweeter, all ticket comes with "Savour Dollars" which can be used to make purchases within the compound! I would suggest not waiting any longer, tickets for several sessions are already sold out! Hurry, book your tickets and I hope to see you there!!
DISCLAIMER: The blog and me are not affiliated to any constituencies of any sort. This post is set up to share thoughts/conclusions/reviews on various topics, such as food, products and restaurants. I have, by no means, any intention of flaming, defaming, accusing and insulting any individual/establishment. No benefits in any form, monetary or otherwise, was exchanged for the post. The writing is not influenced by any parties, and is based solely on my personal thoughts, preference, observations and biasity, if you will. Take it with a pinch of salt.

All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.