Passionfruit Sponge Cake

I feel as though the many thousands of bakers whipping these up for the many thousands of morning teas, bakesales and celebrations of all stripes where this cake has taken pride of place have come to learn the same two lessons - this vanilla sponge is low-key kind of easy to make, and the tart and tropical flavour of passionfruit is a perfect complement to its light and airy texture. This may sound a little weird, but making a half decent sponge cake is all about the vibe - if you get in a light and airy mindset and try to put that touch into each step of the bake, it kind of flows through to the end result.

Rather than dousing the delicate sponge with an overwhelming icing, the passionfuit magic in this cake is sandwiched in the centre with a killer curd swirl. Just whip up some cream to a decadent texture level, pair it with the concentrated flavour hit of the curd and I can reliably report this combo will bring repeat requests for "another small slice".

A couple of sponge tips that I've gleaned here and there: you'll get a lighter cake sifting the flour mix three times. It's not time-consuming in the least and oddly satisfying to watch the refinement process. Also, when you're adding the flour to the batter, drop in around 1/4 cup at a time and gently fold it in. This should help to keep the air in the mix. As a final precaution against your cake sinking, drop the cake tin on the floor from about 30cm high when you remove it from the oven. This is also just really enjoyable to do.