Baking and Mom’s Sponge Cake

Posted on by Gaenor du Plessis

Growing up, strawberries would grow in abundance in our garden every October, and not one year would go by (that I can remember) that I would not have a Hot Milk Sponge Cake made by Mom, and it would be covered in garden-grown strawbs’s.  Mom would always use a butter icing over it, and later in life I took to having a chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache and strawberries.  I even made one the day before Beth was born, and took that into hospital to celebrate our combined birthdays with the nurses and visitors.

In April when Mom went into hospital, I was inspired by strawberry season here in France, and decided I need to make myself a Out-Of-Season birthday cake, topped with fresh picked French Strawberries.  Although I have a recipe for chocolate sponge cake, in my mind I could picture the handwritten one in Mom’s collection that she started at her Kitchen Tea Party in 1975.  I don’t think that at that point I knew that Mum would never get around to sending me a copy of that recipe, but I made a cake anyway.  Less than three weeks later, I was preparing to say my goodbyes.  Mom was sleeping, I was traipsing around home, loosely touching everything that I could, doing my best to hold onto something that I knew I would never have again, and I picked up her recipe book, remembering what I had looked for 3 weeks prior.

Now, thanks to my smartphone, I have a copy of that recipe and her handwriting, and the yellowed, stained pages will never be lost.

Mom's Hot Milk Sponge Cake Recipe
Mom’s Hot Milk Sponge Cake Recipe

Helen in this case, is my Dad’s sister, my dear aunt, who also passed away from cancer in 1999.

Anyway, since we are in school holidays again, and we do a lot of baking as a distraction (it’s a pity my weight doesn’t understand that baking and eating cakes is not for my hips, but to keep the girls busy), and Beth decided she wanted chocolate cake, so we pulled this recipe out of the Cloud, and got baking.  You can follow the recipe in the photo, and I have some fun photos to help you.

The eggs and sugar must be beaten until they are light in colour and creamy. Its important to fold the flour in.
The eggs and sugar must be beaten until they are light in colour and creamy. Its important to fold the flour in.
Where would I be without my imported Baking Powder?
Where would I be without my imported Baking Powder?
I love watching how the baking powder fizzes as it reacts to the heated liquid- and the smell of the milk and butter will ALWAYS remind me of Mum.
I love watching how the baking powder fizzes as it reacts to the heated liquid- and the smell of the milk and butter will ALWAYS remind me of Mum.
Licking the bowl will remain a firm favourite.
Licking the bowl will remain a firm favourite.

I was taught how to make this when we relied on an Aga stove and firewood to heat the oven.  You had to be very careful to incorporate as much air as you could.  You need to do fairy style folding, be very gentle.

The oven temperature conversion is 180 degrees C, and I would greatly recommend lining your cake tins with baking parchment.  This cake does not turn out as diligently as a Madeira cake.  I use 2 baking tins which are circular, with a diameter of 20cm.

Ice it with butter icing, or chocolate ganache, lots of strawberries, a sprinkling of toasted almonds if you fancy, and serve it with tea, coffee, or Bubbles.

Hugs and Kisses,

Xxx

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