Reader Recipe - Modified Irish Sponge Cake

Aimee, a reader from Lexington, Kentucky used my Irish sponge recipe to bake a delicious birthday cake. She modified my recipe in the most amazing ways.

Home ground whole wheat pastry flour replaces cake flour, a substitution I would never have dreamed of making. Sucanat replaces refined processed sugar. Maple syrup sweetens the whipping cream, to create a decadent, luscious filling. Her final creation looks fantastic.

Table of Contents

Aimee's Food Philosophy

Aimee loves to cook from scratch. I love this quotation on her website.

Here is how Aimee describes her food philosophy:

"A “real foodie” is someone who cooks “traditional” food. We cook stuff from scratch using real ingredients, like raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs from chickens that run around outdoors, whole grains, sourdough and yogurt starters, mineral-rich sea salt, and natural sweeteners like honey and real maple syrup.

We don’t use modern foods that are either fake, super-refined, or denatured. This includes modern vegetable oils like Crisco and margarine, soy milk, meat from factory farms, pasteurized milk from cows eating corn and soybeans, refined white flour, factory-made sweeteners like HFCS or even refined white sugar, or commercial yeast.

We believe in eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that come from nature. So we shop at farmer’s markets or buy direct from the farmer, or we grow food in our own backyards."

And so here is Aimee's modified sponge cake recipe, for a less sugary treat.

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup sucanat, which is unprocessed cane sugar.
• ¾ cups plus two tablespoons of home-ground whole wheat pastry flour.
• ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup strawberry or raspberry jam (Aimee used homemade jam)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons  maple syrup

Directions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray two 9-inch round baking pans with non-stick spray infused with flour, or grease with butter and dust with a light coating of flour.

Step 2: Add the eggs and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for 6 to 8 minutes until the mixture has increased in volume and thickened to a consistency of whipped heavy cream.

Step 3: In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder together. Spoon half the flour into the egg mixture and gently fold it in using a spatula. Repeat with the second half of the flour, folding gently to fully incorporate the flour. Add the vanilla essence with the flour if desired.

Step 4: Pour half of the cake mixture into each of the prepared baking pans. Bake in the preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The sponges will be golden brown, with a slight spring to the touch when cooked.

Step 5: Remove the sponges from the oven and cool on a wire tray.

Step 6: Whip the heavy cream using an electric beater until thick. Add the maple syrup to sweeten if desired. Spread jam on the inner surface of each sponge. Place one layer on a plate, spreading the cream over the jam. Sandwich the cream with the upper sponge layer.

Step 7: Decorate by sifting a fine layer of confectioners' sugar on top. Slice to serve.

Look how good this cake looks decorated with colorful candles. An Irish sponge cake definitely makes a perfect birthday cake in my recipe book.

A big thank you to Aimee for making these wonderful modifications, to transform an old Irish favorite. My mom always made sponge cakes to celebrate birthdays when I was a little girl in Dublin. I'm happy to see that tradition continuing on this side of the Atlantic.

Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.

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