This recipe has been an absolute favourite from the page in the NZWW, Mum’s Kitchen, where my mum shows me how to cook some of our family recipes. She’s passing them on and I’m loving our cooking lessons, though at times there seems to be one too many cooks in the kitchen! But it is delightful and I am learning. Her trick with a sponge cake is amazing – pour bubbling sugar syrup into eggs whites? You bet! Drop the sponge when it comes out of the oven? You heard that right! 

Makes one 24cm sponge cake

6 TB sugar

2 TB water

4 eggs, separated

6 heaped TB corn flour

1 level TB plain flour

1 heaped tsp baking powder

300ml cream, whipped with tsp icing sugar

3 finger pinch of ginger

2 cups chopped fresh feijoas

Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 180 C, standard bake (not fan bake). Line a 24cm loose bottom cake tin, with baking paper, grease and dusting it with flour.

1. In a small saucepan, gently bring sugar and water to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. While this is cooking, beat the egg whites in a large glass bowl with an electric beater until soft peaks form.
2. With the beater still going, pour in the sugar syrup in a steady stream. The volume will increase like magic. Now add the 4 egg yolks and continue beating until pale and creamy.
3. Fold in sifted cornflour, plain flour and baking powder and mix gently (so as not to lose any volume) until all the flour has been incorporated. Using a glass bowl is clever as you can see when the flour has been mixed in!
4. Carefully place in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes or until it springs back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted comes out clean. When you remove the sponge cake from the oven, drop it on the floor from about one foot height (still in the tin of course and not upside down!) as this helps prevent it from sinking in the middle. Cool in the tin for 10 to 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack.
5. Once cooled completely, use a large serrated knife to split it in half. Top the bottom layer with sweetened, gingered, stiffly whipped cream, then a layer of chopped feijoa then another of cream before carefully placing the top layer. Dust with icing sugar.
6. Cut into big fat wedges and enjoy with a good cuppa!