To whoever is reading and my co-blogger, I didn't give up on here! I just had some problems and now it's been dealt with perfectly and now I'm moving on very well. All my friends told me it is my turn to update here.(Elfy are you waiting and actually you have a lot to update here? LOL) But I guess we don't take turns. No we don't.

What's the most important about baking? I mean to all the enthusiastic bakers, that's very clear that sharing what they bake with the beloved ones is a drive to get them moving and trying more new recipes. But are your beloved ones honest? They love you so much that they don't want to hurt your feelings and upset you. Personally I love honest comments and needless to say my beloved ones got to try all the failures I did when I first started baking. They were very honest and told me what they thought. That's essential for me to improve. Eventually you will notice the preference of your beloved ones. Like my parents, they have absolutely no interest in any kinds of cheesecakes or mousse cakes. They just like simple and light sponge cakes, chiffon cakes and basically cakes without cream or frosting. They are not easy to please with as they can be quite picky sometimes. But I just love how honest they can be when it comes to tasting my food.
To make sure I get music to my ears, I only serve them what they like. My brother is a very typical example. He normally likes all the things I bake. I think whatever I bake from butter, flour and eggs, he likes it. He is my all-time favourite judge!

Okay, back to the subject, what failure did I face all the time when I started baking? Don't think about something fancy and sophisticated. Think about basic and simple.

Right! SPONGE! Simple, plain and soft sponge cake. I can't count how many times I have tried and failed. It is so true, in cooking and baking, the simplest is always the hardest. Making a nice fluffy sponge definitely gives an extra touch to the decorative cake you are about to make. Bear in mind that sponge cake is supposed to be like sponge. It is not smooth to taste. That's why we don't usually serve it solely. It is an ideal base for cream cakes and layer cakes.

Here I add dried cranberries.

Basic Sponge
(Yields a 8-inch cake)

Eggs 4pcs (Room temperature)
Sugar 80 grams
Flour  80 grams
Vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter  40 grams (Place in a deep jug or bowl)
Vanilla Extract 1 tablespoon
One round cake pan lined with baking paper


1) Soak the eggs in very warm water for 10 minutes.
2) In a large mixing bowl, beat the warm eggs for about 1 minute.
3) Gradually add sugar and beat for about 8 minutes. You will see the mixture double in size and the mixture turns pale.
4) Add the vanilla extract and stir well.
5) Sift in flour and fold gently using a spatula. This is the important part. In step 2 and 3, you beat air into the egg mixture and the air bubbles leaven the cake. If you mix in the flour using the wrong method, you actually make all the air bubbles go away. So remember to gently fold in the flour.
6) Now take 4 spoonfuls of the mixture and pour into the bowl or jug of oil/butter. Mix well. And pour the oil mixture back into the egg mixture and mix them well. This is a trick. If you pour the oil/butter directly in the egg mixture, the oil/butter will sink into the bottom and is not easy to mix well.
7) Pour the batter into the lined cake pan and bake at 180 degree celsius for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8) Invert the cake pan and let cool. (Upside down position avoids sinking of the cake) Remove from pan when it's completely cooled.