This has to be one of our families’ favourite cakes. We make it for just about everyone’s birthday…And it is warmly referred to as “Nana’s Chocolate Cream Cake”. That is because she used to make it for everyone when they visited, and it became their favourite. Even our late Pekingese Princess’s knew exactly where to go in her kitchen, where they’d look up longingly to the bench, where they knew she would have the cake ready to serve.
Grease two 20 cm round cake tins with butter, making sure that all the internal surface is covered. Add a little flour and shake, twist and turn the tin to make sure the butter is then lightly dusted with flour. Set aside.
Carefully separate the egg yolks from the whites, placing the egg whites into a large basin, and the egg yolks into a small dish for later.
Sift the dry ingredients (excluding the salt and sugar). Set aside.
Beat egg whites with salt until stiff.
Add yolks, then add the sugar gradually, while still beating. Beat well to ensure the mixture is not grainy from the sugar.
Add the golden syrup and beat again, to combine.
Sift in the dry ingredients and fold through the wet mixture.
Pour the batter into the two prepared tins.
Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until you notice it just beginning to come away from the side of the tins and the sponge bounces back when you press it lightly with your fingers.
When cool, split each sponge in half and fill with whipped cream which is sweetened with a little sugar, and flavoured with vanilla. You could ice the sponges, if you wish, but we prefer just to dust them with icing sugar.
Notes
For gluten free, replace the plain flour with gluten free custard powder, and dust the cake tins with cornflour.
I like to sift the dry ingredients three times to incorporate as much air as I can, and to ensure that they are all well blended together.