Earl Grey Sponge Cake

At mom's work Christmas dinner last week, her boss, riding on her buzz, wanted me to bake them a cake. I asked her what she liked, she said, not too sweet and no cream. That about eliminated 90% of all cakes no? Well, I decided to turn to my trusted sponge cake recipe from my aunt. This time around, I modified it a little to reduce the sweetness. And as I slowly transform this blog to gain more popularity with online readers, I will post a step by step instruction.

Today's my grandma's birthday, so this one will serve as her birthday cake as well. In fact, the very last time I did this cake, I made it for her birthday too. How fast did this year pass by!

Earl Grey Sponge Cake

6 egg yolks       
sugar 130g
liquid oil  140g (I used grape-seed oil)

milk 100g (heat it up and put 2 earl grey tea bags in for 5 minutes)

cake flour 200g

corn starch 15g

egg whites      6 

sugar              50g

1. Mix the yolks and sugar until pale yellow.







2. Add in the oil in several additions until each is completely incorporated.







 3. Add the milk to the mixture and mix well.

4. Add in the sifted flour and lightly mix well, set aside.







5. Whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak.








6. Take 1/3 of the egg whites and mix into the flour mixture. Then pour the whole thing back to the other 2/3 of egg whites. Lightly and slowly mix well.

 7. Pour the batter into a 8'' by 8'' square pan. Bake at 320F/160C for 50 minutes. (about 10 minutes into baking, I usually put a piece of aluminum foil over it to prevent too much browning.