Foolproof Spongecake

Directions

1. 1
   Line the bottom of a cake tin with baking paper and cover the side with a larger piece of paper (or baking paper).
2. 2
   Shift plain flour and corn flour together (preheat the oven to 355F/180C).
3. 3
   Combine butter and vegetable oil (or milk) in a bowl and place the bowl over a bain marie to melt the butter (keep the mixture warm over the bain marie even after melting the butter).
4. 4
   Put the eggs and granulated sugar in a bowl and whip well.
5. 5
   Place the bowl over a bain marie and whip further.
6. 6
   After it is warm to the touch, remove the bowl from the bain marie (the batter should be thick enough to form ribbons).
7. 7
   Continue to whip until the stiff ribbon stage.
8. 8
   Stir the batter and whip for another 2 minutes to obtain an even smoothness.
9. 9
   Shift in the Step 2 dry ingredients and fold in the batter gently and slowly.
10. 10
    Add 2 ladles of Step 8 batter into the bowl of melted butter and oil at Step 3 and mix well.
11. 11
    Return this batter into Step 8 bowl.
12. 12
    Combine the batter evenly (if the mixture is too fluffy at this point, you can stir a little more).
13. 13
    Hold the Step 10 bowl at chest height and pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.
14. 14
    Drop the cake tin several times to expel excess air.
15. 15
    If the surface of the mixture is too fluffy, you didn't whip enough... Flatten the surface with a spatula (otherwise you will have a uneven surface).
16. 16
    Bake in a 355F/180C oven for 30-35 minutes (if the surface browns too much, cover with aluminum foil).
17. 17
    After baking, drop the cake onto a work surface and pull the paper to remove the sponge from the cake tin straight away.
18. 18
    Spray some water along the copy paper and leave to stand for 2 minutes (you'll be able to peel off the paper easily).
19. 19
    Cover the sponge with a moistened cloth and leave to cool (you could use a moistened paper towel).
20. 20
    After it has cooled, flip over and cover with cling film.
21. 21
    Leave to rest for one day (slice the sponge horizontally into 3 layers the next day).
22. 22
    Make the syrup.
23. 23
    Put the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
24. 24
    After the syrup has cooled, brush the spongecake with syrup.
25. 25
    Decorate the sponge cake as you like.
26. 26
    Just cut the sponge and serve with cream.
27. 27
    It is very tasty.
28. 28
    This is for this year's Christmas cake.
29. 29
    With 2 large eggs use 50 g plain flour, 10 g corn starch, 60 g granulated sugar, 10g butter and 10g vegetable oil.
30. 30
    The baking time is 340F/170C for 25 to 30 minutes.
31. 31
    When sliced, you can see the nice layers.