Sponge cake with toffee sauce

Sponge cake with toffee sauce is a delicate and light cake with a sweet apricot filling, whipped cream and a topping of toffee sauce. Wonderfully simple to make, using everyday ingredients, yet elegant at the same time. A perfect cake for toffee lovers :).

Ingredients for the sponge cake:

• 4 large eggs
• 140 g caster sugar
• 100 g plain flour
• 40 g potato starch

All the ingredients should be at room temperature. Sift the flour and potato starch.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks and whisk the whites until stiff (taking care not to overbeat them). Towards the end of whisking, gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the egg yolks one at a time, continuing to whisk. Add the sifted flour and potato starch to the egg mixture. Gently fold together using a spatula or hand whisk until combined. Folding the ingredients together with a spatula is also the safest method; do not use a mixer.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper, leaving the sides ungreased. Gently transfer the batter to the tin and level the surface.

Bake at 160–170°C for approximately 25–28 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the hot cake from the oven and, from a height of approximately 30–40 cm, drop it (still in the tin) onto the floor. Leave to cool at room temperature. Cut into two layers.

Note: Do not loosen the sides of the sponge from the tin with a knife until it has completely cooled.

Ingredients for soaking:

• 125 ml orange juice

Ingredients for the filling:

• ½ cup apricot jam
• 150 ml double cream, chilled

Additionally:

• 100 ml double cream, chilled
• toffee sauce, prepared according to this recipe (for the topping, cook the sauce only a few seconds longer than you would for serving with desserts – remember that the sauce will firm up as it cools and in the fridge)

Method:

Place the first sponge layer on a serving platter. Drizzle with ¼ cup of the orange juice. Spread with the apricot jam. Whip 150 ml of double cream and spread it over the jam, smoothing the surface. Cover with the second sponge layer. Drizzle with the remaining orange juice. Whip the additional 100 ml of double cream and use it to cover the sides of the cake. Pour the toffee sauce (it can be slightly warm, but not hot) over the top of the cake and smooth it out. Decorate as desired.

Refrigerate the toffee cake for 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!