“What do you call that, darl?”
“Sponge caaake”*
Sponge cake. Fiercely battled among cooks, temperamental and laden with many superstitions, the sponge is one of those cakes that had completely eluded me. This was not for lack of trying. I’ve tried to make a sponge four times exactly and even one was a variation on failure. They were flat and tough (and the macaron has got to be the modern day sponge cake with its many superstitions).The most spectacular fail was one where my friend gave me a recipe copied from a friend who doesn’t cook. I was suspicious, it seemed to defy gravity and logic: hot milk is poured into the rest of the ingredients. Still my friend raved about her friend’s sponge and I was convinced that it would work. What happened was a disaster of epic proportions. I even took a photo of it (which I have since sadly lost) as evidence of a spectacular fail – the sponge was tough and with an enormous crater on the centre.
Legend has it that duck eggs produce the best sponges as they can whip up voluminously and the taste is richer and yet it rises much lighter. However this legend didn’t take into account how hard they are to get a hold of. There was a while last year where I’d ask confused egg sellers at markets and farmers markets whether they had any duck eggs. Kath from Field to Feast would try to give me some duck eggs but as she lives so far away it proved a logistical impossibility. Don’t do as I did and buy the duck eggs in Asian grocery shops, they are salted duck eggs and are in no shape to be used in a sponge.
I finally found some at David Jones food hall one afternoon where was looking for lunch. They weren’t too badly priced either at 6 eggs for $7.95 so I grabbed them and looked around looking for someone to share my lovely discovery with. People didn’t care of course, they probably wondered why this person was clutching a carton of half a dozen eggs with such utter joy but the timing couldn’t have been more wonderful. I had my friend Queen Viv around for a baking session. She is a great bread and pastry maker but cakes and biscuits had always eluded her so we thought that we would kill two birds with one stone and allow both of us to face our nemesis. The duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs and have a wonderfully delicate, almost translucent bone china type of shell. Some had swirls on them and some had a pinkish hue to them. The whites were also cloudier than chicken’s eggs and more mucousy in texture with a distinct smell. Apparently raw duck eggs aren’t good to eat as they carry a greater risk of salmonella poisoning.
Sponge fail 
We tried a cake and it was a fail. One “secret” recipe said that the secret was to drop the sponge mixture while in the tin on the bench twice. When I did that, to my horror, all of the bubbles disappeared before my eyes. One recipe said to add cooled, melted butter and as soon as we did the whole thing deflated into a thick pancake batter. The resultant sponge barely rose and it was half the height that we wanted. So we needed to find some more eggs and unfortunately David Jones had sold out and weren’t restocking. We finally tracked some down at Harris Farm Broadway for the even better price of $5.59. Determined to make it work, we consulted the book we should have probably consulted all along – the Edmonds Cookery Book from New Zealand. There were some invaluable tips which we used and we decided to omit the melted butter and the dropping the mixture on the bench.
Sponge success! High Five!
Austrian Elderflower jam with tiny flowers
Our second go looked very promising, perfect even. Even thought neither of us had made a successful sponge, we had an instinct that this was just right. We popped it in the oven with military precision and even allowed ourselves a tentative high five. A few minutes later I turned on the oven light and I gasped. It had risen! This resulted in another round of high fives and victory dances and then it came out perfectly. We were so proud! It was light and airy and absolutely perfect. Once cooled, we filled it with stiffly beaten cream and a fantastic Elderflower jam that I bought in Austria recently (yes one of the many jams I brought back with me). We sunk our forks into it and were rewarded with an ambrosially perfect sponge. We had both faced and defeated our nemesis and our reward could not have been sweeter.
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your cooking nemesis?
*Quote from “The Castle”, a fantastic Australian movie.
Duck Egg Sponge Cake
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
These tips are essential for such a delicate cake and made the world of difference for us:
Tips:
- Use Duck Eggs if available
- Eggs must be at room temperature (for maximum volume when beating)
- Sift the dry ingredients together at a height using a fine sieve tapping the side of the sieve with ythe heel of your hand (instead of pressing the flour down through the sieve wiht a spoon)
- Ensure that the egg and sugar mixture is at least 3 times the original volume. It will take about 8-10 minutes.
- It’s a race against time once you add the dry ingredients to the egg so if you have someone to sif the flour mixture into the egg mixture while you fold the mixture that is ideal. We got ours in the oven in about 2 minutes and we could see that as the time went on, the mixture started to fall
- Fold in the dry ingredients using a large metal spoon in an up, down and over movement.
- Lightly butter and flour the tin
Ingredients:
- 4 Duck eggs (medium sized 420g are fine) or 5 large chicken eggs at room temperature
- 2/3 cup caster/superfine sugar
- 3/4 cup plain flour
- 1/3 cup custard powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- A little butter and flour to grease the tins
- 2 sponge tins or 2 springform tines in the same size
Filling:
- 300ml cream
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 60grams jam of your choice
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar extra for dusting
Duck eggs before beating-note the cloudy whites!
After 30 seconds whipping
1. Arrange oven rack so that it sits in the centre of the oven. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease pans with butter and sift flour over butter and shake out excess flour. Whisk eggs and sugar on a medium high setting (I used setting #6 on the Kitchenaid) for 8-10 minutes until it has turned very pale and very thick and has increased in volume to at least 3 times its original volume.
Frothy, moussey egg mixture after 10 minutes whipping
2. Meanwhile, sift the flour and custard powder three times. Each time do it at a bit of a height and tap the side of the sieve with the heel of your hand or use your wrist to shake it back and forth (rather than pressing down on the flour with a spoon).
3. When the egg mixture is ready, ensure that the oven is at the correct temperature. Have everything ready as the timing is crucial now. Sift the flour into the mixture while someone else folds the mixture underneath. This helps to avoid the lumps. Use the up, down and under folding motion (do not stir). It folds easily and should be able to be incorporated easily. Quickly spoon it into the tins and bake in the centre row of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. It should spring back slightly when touched and the edges should pull back from the tin.
4. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes and then remove from the tin gently and cool on a wire rack.
Spread with cream and Elderflower jam
5. Beat cream with icing sugar until stiffish and spread this on one cake half (the heavier or less photogenic one is best). I like to smooth the sides with an angled palette knife for a smoother look. Spoon jam on top and place the other cake round on top and sift icing sugar on top.
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91 Comments | Add your own
I love a good sponge cake but they certainly are one of those cakes that look deceptively easy o make. Yours trult looks like a winner
Oh yum! That’s like walking on a cloud, and then promptly biting into it! x
Congratulations! I’ve never tried a sponge cake, but you’ve inspired me to give it a go!
For those in Sydney, duck eggs are widely available at Flemington Markets – $8/dozen. We use them all the time, in baking, and also in lemon curds and coconut jam (kaya). If you need to substitute a duck egg for chicken, you can weigh the unshelled eggs, and use 50g duck egg mass for every “large” chicken egg specified in a recipe.
And interesting you mention macarons. I bought some from Adriano Zumbo yesterday to see what all the fuss was about (checked the bill carefully after you mentioned that you’d been overcharged – thanks for the headsup!). They certainly look pretty, and they were pleasant, but they really weren’t that exciting?
Hi!
I read you blog everyday. Love it!
Btw, did I spot you at Moo Burgers Coogee yesterday? Or was it a case of mistaken identity?
Congratulations on defeating your sponge cake nemesis!
That’s going straight to the pool room.
(P.S. We live in a strange world, where fresh, natural eggs are marketed as “trans fat free”…)
(P.P.S. OMG elderflower jam SO PRETTY!)
I’ve made a cornflour sponge once in high school (we had to use hand beaters plus beat whites and yolks seperately) and mine turned out. I’ve still not made one since, 12 years later as I don’t want to ruin my perfect record!
My husband has just put in a request for a cake like this! It looks like a mighty sponge.
Cool! I’ve only used chicken eggs before, haven’t even ventured to quails
Thankyou for a great post! I am HOPELESS at Sponge cake…..so I am keen to try out some of these tips next time
I am drooling over sponge cake …. stunning!
Your cake is so lovely! I remember the trouble we had with sponge (genoise) cakes in class but once you get the hang of them they’re not so bad. That elderflower jam looks magical, btw.
really interesting
never heard or duck eggs sponge cake
Hi Lorraine,
You are a brave soul…Although I love baking (in all manner) I have yet to tackle THE Sponge cake!! Love your effort though! Maybe I will pluck up the courage one day! Have you tried Stephanie Alexander’s Spinge cake recipe? Apparently it’s quite a good one!
Look forward to reading your next entry!
Oops that was suppose to read:
Stephanie Alexander’s Sponge cake!
Congratulations! What a beautiful sponge.
Thank you for being so gracious in revealing your tips to success.
Perfect! 10 out of 10!
Back in the UK I used to buy all of my eggs from a farmer friend (£1.50 for 12 – what a bargain!), and she always used to include a couple of duck eggs for me to bake with. Hers were a beautiful blue colour!
Lorraine, this is an interesting piece of information. Have never ever occurred to me to use duck eggs for baking…and I tend to agree with you for sponge. I am still apprehensive about making sponge using the traditional all egg method – mine have always turned rather dry and coarse. Hence, I have since resorted to using the meringue method for all my e.g. swissroll sponges.
There’s nothing like winning a battle…..and thats the beauty of food – its forgiveness. Failures are past and tomorrow is another day, to try again, perchance to bake, perchance to succeed. Well done!!!!!
I’ve never made a sponge before but my mum makes really fantastic ones. Using a foodpro no less. Don’t know how she does it but they always turn out great. Maybe I will ask her how she does it!
Oh goodness- it looks fabulous! Congratulations! You have got me wanting to bake a sponge cake now. Maybe I’ll try my gran’s recipe which seemed to never fail.
Oh wow, that sponge cake looks incredible
Look at that sponge – it’s gorgeous! I have never cooked with duck eggs, and if you had trouble getting them in Sydney, there’s little hope of getting them here. I am intrigued by the jam – how perfect with the litle flowers.
Congratulations! I admire your persistence!!
My Nanna has always made beautiful sponges. I confess to always buying one whenever i’ve needed it. Maybe it’s time to try making one for myself!
Congratulations on conquering the sponge
My mother and grandmother always made the best sponges as I was growing up and I remember fondly the times they would show me how it was all done.
This of course was including the crucial Edmonds baking powder cookbook. I have a copy of that cook book from 3 generations of my family all lovingly splattered in batter and flower.
Duck eggs really do make the best sponges, we had a duck living behind the daisy bush when I was a child and it was always my job to coerce it off its nest to get at her eggs. The bribe of fresh baked sponge always being payment enough
This looks amazing and the idea of elderflower jam in a sponge cake sounds so divine. Thank you NQN.
Hi Lorraine. Your sponges look fantastic. I keep ducks in my back garden and every spring I wait not so patiently for them to start laying again so I can get back to baking with their lovely sunny orange eggs. Best eggs ever.
I am bookmarking this one! Thanks heaps.
I have never attempted a sponge, and I think I’ve been afraid of them since I was very little and heard my aunts telling their horror stories.
Well done! That sponge looks terrifically light and the elderflower jam sounds rather special
The sponge looks divine. I’m going to try it when the weather gets cooler – too hot in the kitchen for good cooking karma. Another beauty is a Victoria Sponge – mmmm, and it needs good butter cream filling rather than fresh.
That is one beautiful sponge. Now my turn.
Congratulations!!! It’s so funny being able to conquer a nemesis – mine are eggs (I can’t boil or poach eggs) and Roast chicken – I’m always terrified of giving everyone salmonella… But I”m working on it!!
Lol
Whoa Lorraine, that is one thick cream layer! Well done on the sponge, you should be super proud, it’s always good to read of hard fought successes!
Thanks for the heads up about not eating raw duck eggs, I’ll try and remember next time I have the urge
Lorraine, I think you are so generous with your trials and tribulations on cooking and passing on the information to us readers. Keep up the good work. I am sourcing duck eggs for baking cakes.
what a perfect looking sponge cake lorraine well done!
Lorraine,
Congrats! I can relate to your victory story. I will do the same once I master the art of Bikang Ambon.
Question: I did not see any extract in your batter. I wonder if the cake’s aroma is egg-y. Duck eggs in Indonesia have bluish shell and stronger egg aroma than chicken eggs, thus we have to put some vanilla extract/powder to mask the egg-y flavor.
Wow! That looks beautiful!
I’ve had some pretty spectacular sponge cake disasters too. The only one that ever resembled a normal sponge [yus!] was gluten-free.
Yay! The Edmonds cookbook is the best though ay!
Congratulations! Isn’t it a great feeling to have overcome all obstacles to beat your nemisis? That sponge cake looks fluffylicious.
Hi Lorraine, such a shame we couldn’t get our duck eggs across to you! We’re selling trays of 30 at the moment for $16! You would then have had plenty left over for Kylie Kwong’s fabulous deep fried duck eggs with oyster sauce. Oooooo mouth drool!
What a gorgeous looking and delicious cake. Using duck eggs for the sponge is a new to me, and glad to learn something new…
Great posting, thanks for sharing.
Hmmmm. With your success I am thinking I might have to bake myself a sponge! My Nana used to make awesome sponge cakes, and a mean ginger fluff as well. Her high standards have meant that I have avoided the sponge for fear of failure. I’m more of a dense cake connoisseur. But now… Well, I might just have to conquer my fear!
Ha ha I love The Castle too – at our house it’s “What do you call that love?” – “Rissoles!” – “Cor, you should have a shop!”
We had a pet duck when I was a child and my dad used to have poached duck egg every morning for breakfast.
The sponge looks lovely and bouncy! I think my cooking nemesis is pastry, like lots of people. I make olive oil pastry or occasionally buy it frozen.
Great minds DO think alike! hahaha, I was thinking that an upcoming post would be titled my nemesis or something like it! It looks as though you won…hopefully I can do the same…and no telling, I don’t want to jinx myself!
I love the idea of duck egg sponge..and the delicate floral jam is a fitting tribute. Your pictures are stunning, muth-watering even!
My friend uses the ‘drop the pan’ on the floor trick and her sponges are still the BEST I have ever tried. Doesn’t work for me though and I have been defeated by the old sponge for many years….until 2 weeks ago I tried the Brown Sugar sponge on the CSR dark brown sugar pkt and it worked!! So I know how good it feels to finally produce a cake worthy of being called a sponge!
I am always anticipating a good time when I visit your site! Again I was not disappointed! I went to a Thai grocer nearby wanting to buy duck eggs once and the lady told me that inside the eggs there were live little ducks that would have to be dropped in boiling water and so I fled from the store as fast as I could (or at least that’s what I understood)
By the way, I have always followed the French who heat their génoise “appareil” (batter) before beating the eggs. No problem then!
Looks great! ’sfunny, when I was a boy (50+ years ago) and teaching myself to cook I made many sponges without a failure – it was probably the luck of the ignorant. As I grew older I lost the taste for them and stopped baking them – few cakes appeal now. They look wonderful, but hold no appeal at all.
Congratulations! I would love to be able to make a perfect sponge cake but have been too scared to even try. Something very special about the old fashioned sponge with jam and cream…yum!
I agree about the duck eggs, I have 2 ducks in inner city melb. They are Black Cayugas and the eggs are blue.
They are wonderful in cakes and pancakes.
I think you need a pet duck – I used to have one when I was a kid! I have been told that the secret is the custard powder but also having no butter – must try a proper sponge one of these days and do as my mum says and follow the recipe precisely
your sponge looks wonderful and airy – the CWA would be proud
Wow, this takes me back. My Mum rarely baked, when she did it would be a sponge, presented in a similar fashion as yours. I can almost taste it!
I have never seen duck eggs befpre and I am sure they arnt available, the cake looks perfect!! Soft and spongy
Cool recipe , never thought to use duck eggs . Will give it a go .
Wow! how absolutely yummy!! I have loved sponge since I was a little girl (50+ years ago) I used to drool over sponges with pink icing!!! Well done!
my mum cannot cook at ALL but for some reason she can make a sponge. It is crazy!
Congrats! It looks smashing!! When I had the suburban 1/4 acre I always kept a couple of happy Khaki Campbells. Happy ducks = happy eggs = happy baking! I put duck eggs in everything and enjoyed roast duck too, after a quick dispatch round the back of the shed. Yes, I’m a murderous cad! My theory – give them a lovely, lovely life, end it quickly with no stress and enjoy the spoils. So much nicer than those poor, under-aged little bodies wrapped in plastic shrouds. I swear food that’s been happy tastes better!
My nemesis is banana bread! No matter how many times i make it, i cant get it to look and taste like the Mama Kaz ones you get in all the cafe’s these days. Its driving me crazy! Ive never had a problem with sponge cakes funnily enough…
I can cook/bake pretty much anything. Gluten milk egg salicylate free even. But there are two things I have NEVER been able to master and it annoys me no end…
Soft boiled eggs and jelly slice.
I know. It is humiliating. CHILDREN can make those!
That one’s goin straight to the pool room!!!!!!
That looks amazing!
Congratulations!
Unfortunately my nemesis seems to be cookies… My cakes are always great, but my recent attempts at shortbread & custard/butter cookies were awful
I’m no good at rice either.
Sponge cakes are my downfall too. I’ve tried twice to make a sponge and it’s turned out like a frisbee every time.
Other downfalls for me: pralines-a sugary pecan candy from the American South. I never get the consistency right. I’ve had some issue with fudge as well although I find if you make the ones with condensed milk or icing sugar they tend to work out.
Thanks for these great tips about the sponge cake. I’ll try again
Those look magnificent. I’ve no patience, alas, for baking sponge cakes, so I really admire cakes like yours. I can imagine how gorgeous this particular cake must have tasted; duck eggs have such an appealing richness.
I managed to master the sponge because I inherited a wonderful recipe which was pretty full-proof. Even so, not having made it for a while, my first attempt late last year resulted in a failure as well. In my recipe, you beat the egg whites independently of the yolks to almost merangue texture and yes, pouring hot milk into the egg/flour mix seemed so wrong but it activates the baking powder and is what causes the froth. Well done on yours and the Elderflower jam sounds wonderful!
Ha ha go the sponge !! My husband made me one for my birthday and he had no idea of the folklore surrounding the sponge baking and it was perfect !! I couldn’t believe it! My nemesis is lasagna. I think because my Nonna is so good at it and it is all homemade with the pasta machine etc, and I can’t live up to hers. However I also cannot make what we call ” Aussie lasagna” ! how embarrassing is that.
Ooh lovely, glad to see you’re not stingey with the cream filling! My nemesis is deep frying anything – all that hot oil, all that fat!
What a lovely sponge, something you would find in the old cake shops way back when. I’ve always been too scared to make sponge cake for fear of failure but you have taken all the guess work out of it, so I guess there are no excuses now. I have heard that duck eggs produce better sponge cakes but I find them quite strong in flavour and I can just hear my husband saying ” too eggy for me”.
Love the Elderflower jam but funny you put it on top of the cream , I would layer it on the sponge then add the cream, doesn’t really matter tastewise though.
Duck eggs are great for making home-made pasta as well, they give a deeper colour and because of their size you don’t need as many.
Beautiful Cake! Next time you are trying to fold flours into a heavily whipped egg white mixture like a sponge or macaron mix try using a slotter skimmer instead of a spoon -works wonders!(or if you can get one from the US an Angel Food Cake folder (looks like a large holed fly swat) or a Cyclone Whisk are great too)
Hi 5, Lorraine! You did it!!!
My nemesis is homemade curd. My mother in law assures me it’s easy, but 5 attempts later I am still not convinced.
Stoopid curd.. grrr…
Well done Lorraine! That’s a sensational looking sponge – funny about the asian duck eggs
(I love those). Have you ever tried “beating the egg yolks over hot water” method? (Whites beaten separately)? Works well for genoise, but can’t say I’ve ever tried a proper Aussie sponge cake – want to have a go now !
congrats on a well-fought battle, lorraine! your victory is certainly sweet and impressive. i only wish you could find the picture of your epic fail so you could promptly laugh in its face.
I am not a baker. i can follow a recipe exactly and still turn out not quite right… sighh
But I may one day have the courage to give this a try. with duck eggs.
as easy as sponge cake looks, I can attest to the fact that it’s not easy to make. it took me twice to get it right on the first go. and wow – who would’ve thought of using duck eggs!
Look how well risen that sponge is. That looks so light and fluffy. My aunt makes angel food cake with duck egg whites. Harris Farm is a fab place to get cheap and good quality duck eggs of the unsalty kind eheheh.
You Beaut! Well done Lorraine. I too used to be afraid of sponge cakes but I found a FANTASTIC recipe on an ‘ancient’ copy of the Aust Womens Weekly New Cookbook – I nicked it from my Mom, so that’s how old it is. Anyway, its my safe, safe sponge and I swear, the Aust Womens Weekly always produces good results – and you DONT need Ducks Eggs!! Hey, if I can make it, you’ll do a super job with it.
This is the link if you want the recipe.
http://dad-baker.blogspot.com/2008/05/orange-choc-sponge-cake.html
Thats so fascinating! I am so keen to try this! And that deliciously thick cream looks terribly inviting. Thanks for sharing. Sponge cakes are so not easy. Now I need a really good chocolate layer cake recipe. Nothing I make is good enough!
Hi Lorraine,
I live in Geneva…I don’t think I have ever used caster sugar, am not sure what it is. Can I substitute that with something else? I can access icing sugar, can I use that instead ?
Also can the custard powder be substituted ?
Ta for your helpful response
Looks beautiful! I love duck eggs, and I love even more the inventiveness of using them in a cake. I’m surprised you had so much trouble finding duck eggs in stores. I see them in Chinese grocery stores all the time. Anyway, will try this with my current love, St Dalfour’s Royal Fig jam!
Cinnamon rolls are my nemesis! Turn out hard (both the filling and the bread) and horrid instead of bready and gooey.
Well done! This sponge looks deliciously light and fluffy. The sponge is such a difficult cake to master. I’ve tried a few different recipes and techniques. My ‘almost’ fail proof version includes a healthy dose of cornflour – I think essentially playing the role of your custard powder here. I have never used duck eggs, so would be interested to see how they affect other baked goods. Will have to keep my eye out for them – no David Jones food hall here in Brisbane, though I am afraid.
I have NEVER seen fresh duck eggs on sale..only century eggs. I hate dealing egg yolks and white separately and then folding them together. A pain really. Your sponge looks great!
Wow Lorraine your final sponge looks so perfect and well worth the multiple attempts! I’m still too scared to attempt sponge cake, but now that I can do macarons I might give a go one day
I have made a sponge with duck eggs before and it was fairly more light and fluffy than a chicken egg sponge, my nemesis is poached eggs my husband – who is generally the BBQ king – cooks a mean poached egg.
I never knew duck eggs made for better sponges – so thanks for enlightening me on that! Personally, my nemesis is swiss rolls. My sponges are always fine until the time comes for me to roll them… then a crack, then two cracks appear. :S Won’t give up until I get my perfect swiss roll though!
I’m glad you beat it Lorraine! Very nicely done (definitely a high five moment, lol!). Your cake is stunning. I think my nemesis is puff pastry…I’m a little too intimidated to even attempt it!
im going to have to try this!!! duck eggs…i hope I can get them….the sponge looks incredible….congrtulations on ur success….such sweet success!:))
Lovely sponge Lorraine! I love how thick you piled on the cream – yum! Looks like a cloud!
What a fabulous looking sponge cake! Well done. I’ll have to try the duck eggs. My mother used to take great care with making sure that no draughts could get into the kitchen when she baked sponge cakes, something about the wind ruining her sponges.
That is so interesting about the duck eggs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cake baked with them before. The next time I talk with food scientist Harold McGee, I’m going to have to ask him why duck eggs are able to give such lovely lift to a cake batter. So intriguing!
Hi sandra-I totoally agree, I’ve wasted so many eggs and ingredients on them! Thankyou1
Hi fat mum slim-Hehe that is a cute comparison!
xxx
Hi Celia-Thankyou! Ahh I wish I could get out there. They’ve got such a great range of stuff! And that price is a steal!
Oh no what a shame! I love the ones at Herme in Paris. They’re so delicate and lovely there! Sadly we are so far away *sniff…
Hi MJ-Thankyou so much! Hehe no it wasn’t me
I think I must have a doppelganger 
Thankyou!
Hi Hannah-Haha!
Oh wow, really? :O I know, love the little flowers!
Hi Sonya-Ahh cool! I’ve seen some recipes with cornflour. Hehe that’s cute!
Hi Sarah-Fabulous! I bet you do a beautiful one!
Hi Fiona-Duck and quail eggs are a little harder to find-hopefully that will change!
Hi Lisa-You’re more than welcome! Trust me, I was absolutely hopeless!
Hi joey-Thankyou!
Hi anna-Yes I think now it will be fine but before I was tearing my hair out! Thanks, it’s so pretty!
Hi snooky doodle-Ahh do you get duck eggs over there?
Hi Evelyn-Hehe thankyou! I thought I’d never get it
Oh no I haven’t tried that one! 
Thanks!
Hi romaverona-Thanks so much!
I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I did 
Hi Angela-Thankyou very much!
Oh wow what a bargain! 
Aww that would be gorgeous to see the duck egg blue! I confess I’ve only seen it on Tiffany boxes!
Hi shirley-Thankyou! Yes I was so unlucky with mine, I almost gave up! Ahhh I can imagine that that would work very well!
Hi Kitchen Butterfly-Absolutely!
Thankyou!
Hi Esz-Oh really! That’s fantastic! She must have a knack for it!
Oooh yes I bet she has some great tips!
Hi gastronomygal-Thankyou so much!
I think Grandmother’s recipes are wonderful!
Hi Alex-Thankyou very much!
Hi Cakelaw-Thankyou!
Yeah I searched for them for so long! 
It’s really delicious and quite unlike any other jam if that makes sense!
Hi Nic-Thankyou!
Absolutely! Maybe she will share her recipe?
Hi Cynthaea-Thankyou!
Ahh yes the Edmonds cookbook. Such a classic! Hehe what a cute memory! 
Hi Jay-Thankyou so much and you’re welcome!
Hi Sarah-Thanks so much! Oh how fabulous! You are so lucky!
Hi Brigitta-You’re welcome! Yes they can be so hard!
Hi Y-Thankyou! I am so relieved. I think I was on a high all day!
Hi Bev-Fabulous! Yes it’s a bit too hot for the oven isn’t it! Ahh yes perhaps I’ll try that next!
Hi Mary-Thankyou! Best of luck!
Hi Joy-Thankyou!
Oh really? Aww you poor thing 
But yes I know how it feels having one!
Hi Conor-You gotta have the cream!
Thankyou! I felt so exhilarated! Hehe well that includes underdone ones of course 
Hi miranda-Thankyou very much! Best of luck with yours I’m sure they’ll turn out terrifically!
Hi Betty-Thankyou so much!
Hi Tuty-Thankyou! The cake isn’t very eggy really. Perhaps the rest of the sponge ingredients help to mask it. Or would they taste different I wonder?
Hi Theresa-Thanks so much!
Isn’t it amazingly good and reliable! 
Hi foodwink-Thankyou! Absolutely, it feels wonderful!
and I love the term fluffylicious!
Hi Cath-I know, it was such a shame! Oh wow 30 for $16? Amazing!
Hi Arlette-Thankyou so much! Yes it was new to me although from all reports they really do fluff up nicely
Thankyou!
Hi Sian-Absolutely, I bet you’ll make a gorgeous one! Ooh ginger fluff? I’ve never made that before!
Perhaps she’ll share her recipe with you? That would be awesome 
Hi arista-Haha it’s full of classic lines isn’t it!
I kept pressing it as I was so amazed by its sponginess! Ahh pastry can be a challenge but homemade is amazing! 
Hi Tenina-Hehe I love it!
I can’t wait to read all about it!
Hi Anna |-Thankyou!
You are too kind!
Hi Christina-Yes isn’t it funny how it works for some but not for others! Oh cool, I must look that up! Thankyou!
Hi tasteofbeirut-Hehe thankyou!
Oh dear, that doesn’t sound quite right (and yes quite frightening too!) I can imagine that would work quite well! 
Hi John-Really, isn’t that funny!
Ahh really, no more cakes for you?
Hi spice and more-Yes I totally agree, I love a good old fashioned sponge!
Hi jacki-Oh you are so lucky!
Blue eggs no less too! 
Hi Johanna -How much would I love one!
Yes the butter was a huge mistake for us! Thankyou!
Hi Jane-Oh fabulous! I used to love sponges when I was little too!
Hi Parita-You can do it with chicken’s eggs too in case you can’t get duck eggs!
Thankyou! 
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Hi tonybalone-Thankyou! I hope you like it
Hi aLI-Thankyou so much! Hehe me too! I always asked for a sponge cake with pink icing
Hi Sarah-Hehe isn’t that funny!
Hi Caro-Thanks so much!
Aww I love the sound of happy ducks! I absolutely agree that happy animals taste better!
Hi innerwestfoodie-Oh really-I wonder if they do something with it for the Mama Kaz ones? I wonder what their secret is!
Hi Kelley-Oh I don’t think I’ve tried jelly slice but now I’m so intrigued!
I looked it up and it looks delicious and I think Mr NQN would love it.
Hi Natalie-:lol: I love a good Castle quote!
Hi Zam-Thankyou so much!
I think rice is hard, I find it difficult to get that perfect consistency too!
Hi Kim-It’s so disheartening isn’t it! Ahh are pralines different from other pralines? I love anything from the South so they sound interesting (but I’ve heeded your warning
)
Hi Midge-Thankyou so much! They are so rich but lovely!
Hi Gummi Baby-Oh you are very lucky! Oh really, it just felt so wrong when I did it and it turned out so badly
Thankyou!
Hi sonia-I think there’s something to be said about people who have no idea how hard it is!
Oh wow, that does sound heavy duty! 
Hi Moya-I can never skimp on anything
I find deep frying scary too!
Hi Matilda-Yes that’s what I was hoping for!
Ahh I promise the strong duck egg taste disappears in this. I couldn’t tell that there was anything different in it 
The Elderflower jam was quite watery so I didn’t want it soaking through the cake itself.
Hi Cate-Ahh great tip, thankyou!
Hi Ladybird_Hi 5!
Yes I’m so happy! Oh no, do you mean lemon curd?
Hi shaz-Thankyou!
Hehe you should have seen my face 
I haven’t tried it as I don’t have one of those electric beaters, only the Kitchenaid type. I can imagine that would work well!
Hi grace-Thanks so much! Haha yes I can rip that one up now!
Hi penny-Oh really? My friend Queen Viv was like that but it worked out in the end
Hi Panda-Yes it can be so hard! Yes I had heard that from a few places so I was so interested in trying them!
Hi Katherine-Thankyou!
Ahh I bet it’s gorgeous with duck eggs! Haha!
Hi Dharm-Why thankyou!
hehe sadly I don’t use Womens Weekly recipes as a matter of principle (they started legal action on me, long story) and in fact it was one of their recipes that suggested to add butter which was a big mistake. But yours looks good even if the recipe is by them 
Hi Sweets at Vicky’s-I love a thick layer of cream!
Ahh I don’t think I’ve ever made one but if O come across one I’ll let you know! 
Hi Fusion-It’s superfine sugar. I think you could use icing sugar too. To be honest, I’m not sure, I think you can perhaps substitute it with cornflour and perhaps vanilla?
Hi tangerine eats-Thankyou!
Yes those ones are salted duck eggs as I mentioned and are definitely not suitable for baking 
Hi milli-Oh no, Have you tried using bread improver at all?
Hi Julia-Thankyou so much!
Yes I think you’re right! 
Ahh do you have Harris Farm? They stock them too and cheaper too!
Hi pigpigscorner-Thankyou! Yes this is really easy!
Hi Steph-Thanks so much! Absolutely, it’s the macaron of yesteryear!
Hi Jenny-It’s amazing how much more they fluff up!
Oh fabulous, will he share his secret with you? 
Hi Su-yin-It’s something I kept reading and I wanted to get some for ages!
Oh yes Swiss rolls aren’t good for me either! 
Good on you!
Hi Faith-Thankyou so much!
I know what you mean. I made it for the first time last year and it was delicious (but intimidating!)
Hi zurin-Please do! I’d love to know what you think of them!
Thankyou!
Hi Mowie-Hehe yes I love clouds of whipped cream!
Hi Miss High Heels-Thankyou!
Ahh I can imagine a draught might not be too good for them! 
Hi Carolyn-Ahh yes absolutely I’d love to know too!
Just to be clear, I didn’t come up with that “trans fat free” thing on my own, out of the blue
It says it on your egg carton! 
I have many duck eggs, so will try this sponge. I always end up with two large biscuits, so hopefully. My ducks are laying again (all of a sudden), too many duck eggs, not enough recipes….
Katrina
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