Desserts
Microwave Vanilla Sponge Cake
A vanilla sponge for one, cooked in the microwave in about two minutes. Weigh an egg, then use the same weight of butter, sugar and flour. Nice with jam and a scoop of ice cream.
Makes 1 bowl · Prep 5 mins · Cook 2 mins · 7 ingredients · 4 steps
Ingredients
- 1 egg (weighed in its shell)
- Unsalted butter (the same weight as the egg)
- Caster sugar (the same weight as the egg)
- Self-raising flour (the same weight as the egg)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 spoonful jam (optional, to serve)
- 1 scoop ice cream (optional, to serve)
Method
- Weigh the egg. Weigh the egg in its shell and note the weight — that is how much butter, sugar and flour you need.
- Mix it all in a bowl. Put the butter, sugar, self-raising flour, vanilla extract and the cracked egg into a large microwave-safe bowl and mix until smooth, with no streaks of butter or dry flour left.
- Microwave the sponge. Microwave for 2 minutes, until risen and the top springs back.
- Top and serve. Top with a spoon of jam and serve with a scoop of ice cream, if you like, straight out of the bowl.
Good to know
- The egg sets every other quantity, so the recipe scales by the egg: for a bigger cake, use more eggs and match their combined weight in butter, sugar and flour. The vanilla does not need to go up in step — two eggs do not need two teaspoons, so use your judgement.
- Use the bowl you will eat from: it saves washing up, and the sponge goes straight from the microwave to the table.
- Soft butter mixes in far more easily than butter straight from the fridge.