Qian’s Chinese Sponge Cake

Serves 8

Time 1 hour

Ingredients

5 large eggs

15g caster sugar or natural sweetener (or 30-60g if you prefer sweeter) 

1 tsp lemon juice  

90g self-raising flour, sifted 

65ml vegetable oil

70ml milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Separate the eggs into 2 large bowls.

Add lemon juice to egg whites and whisk at a high speed until stiff peaks form.

In the bowl with the yolks, add the flour, sugar, vegetable oil and milk and whisk until smooth consistency.

Gently fold in 2 cups of whisked egg whites into the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined, being careful not to lose the aeration of the whisked egg whites. 

Then, add that mixture back into the rest of the egg whites and fold until combined.

Pour into an 8-inch springform cake tin (lined only on the base and not the sides) and bake on a lower rack in the oven for 35 minutes, or until cooked through. This can be tested using a skewer which you insert into the cake and if it returns dry then the cake is ready.

Allow to cool completely upside down on a wire rack before removing it from the cake tin.

Serve it as is, or decorate with whipped cream and berries, or any toppings of your choice.