Sponge Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 medium oranges
• 6 tbsp golden syrup, plus extra to serve, optional
• 200g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 4 large eggs

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Finely grate the zest from 2 oranges into a large bowl. Cut the peel and pith from all the oranges with a serrated knife, and slice quite thickly.
2. Drizzle the golden syrup evenly over the base of a greased 23cm round cake tin. There is no need to line the tin and it shouldn’t have a loose bottom otherwise the syrup will bubble through. Arrange the best orange slices on top of the syrup and finely chop any that don’t fit.
3. Put all the remaining ingredients in the bowl with the zest and chopped orange. Beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Spoon on top of the oranges, spread lightly and make a deep hollow in the centre of the mix with the back of a spoon - this will ensure that the cake rises evenly.
4. Bake for 45-50 mins until firm when pressed. Allow to settle for 5 mins before turning out. Drizzle with golden syrup if you like, and serve with custard or ice cream.