Jam filled vanilla cake

I made this one for Christmas but this is a recipe you can try for every occasions, and even non-occasions, as it is easy and delicious.
The vanilla sponge is made on a time tested basic recipe passed down in my family, working on the “4 quarter” method, simply put that means you weight the eggs in their shell and add the exact same weight of each flour, butter, and sugar along with whatever flavouring or extra you want in it.
The icing in my picture is an egg white and icing sugar icing which I’ve been told is also called “Royal icing” it has the distinction to dry to a hard sugary crust and is probably the only Icing I’ve ever been able to master.
The jam filling part of this cake is probably the only slightly difficult part of the cake making.

Ingredients:

- 4 eggs (you need to weight them in their shell at this point, and if your tin is bigger you simply add an egg or two)
- The exact same weight of the eggs in each flour, sugar and butter (at room temperature to be soft)
- a heaped teaspoon of baking powder
- 2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
- your choice of jam for the filling (I used cherry in this recipe)

For the icing:

- 3 fresh egg whites
- 250g confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar)
- a pinch of salt
- food colouring (optional)

1) As said before, you absolutely need to weight your eggs in their shell before starting the recipe, the whole ratio will depend on it, the 4 quarter term applied to this recipe comes from the fact you have a 1:1:1:1 ratio with equal weight parts for each of the main ingredients. I sued a round holed tin for that cake, but any shape will do.

2) Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius and beat the Butter in a mixing bowl until it is soft and creamy, add the sugar and mix well together, add the eggs and beat to a homogenous mix and add the vanilla essence.

3) Sift the flour and baking powder together, and add to the wet batter, folding in the flour gently until completely mixed and creamy.

4) Grease and dust your cake tin, and pour the batter in it, levelling the batter carefully if you are using a funnel tin like I did so that the base will be flat once the cake has been flipped on a tray.

5) bake the cake for about 40 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or blade knife comes clean after having been inserted in the thickest area of the cake.
Once baked, transfer to a wire rack gently and let it cool completely before filling and icing.

6) While the cake is cooling you can work on your icing if you are choosing to ice the cake.
To do so, put the 3 egg whites and the pinch of salt in a mixing bowl and use an electric beater, or the egg white beating attachment on your food processor to beat the egg white to a stiff “snow”, peaks should be forming while beating when the mix has reached the rich texture and a cut with a knife will leave a mark.

7) Once your eggs are stiff, add all the icing sugar to the mix, folding gently and until an homogenous mix has been created. Set aside until the cake is ready.

8) Once the cake is cool, take a big bread knife, and gently and carefully slice horizontally through the middle.
Very gently remove the top portion taking great care into not breaking it and set aside.
Take a teaspoon and gently scrape a groove in the bottom section of the cake and fill the groove with the jam.
If you are planning to go with the icing, then take a little icing and line each side of the groove with it, this will cement your cake once the top portion has been placed back on it.
Gently place the top section of the cake back where it belongs, the jam filling is done

9) If you are doing the icing, transfer your cake to a serving dish, as you won’t be able to move it afterward. Pour the icing over the cake to cover it, if you want wipe the excess gathering at the base, but do so very gently and after a few minutes, the icing is meant to ooze down before it sets.
On the cake above I used a small portion of the icing sugar mixed with red food colouring and did a freehand doodle on the already half set white icing, you can let your creativity go wild there.