I like to call this recipe my one-pan band as you can quite literally create it in one saucepan. As well as being completely delicious, it’s simple to make. The very first time I made it, it emerged perfect. It also involves minimal washing-up.

The reason I melt the butter is because a moist cake depends on oil. Now, some oils aren’t meant to be cooked over certain temperature, which is how I got the idea of melting butter instead.
Doing this also eliminates creaming the butter and sugar, which can lead to clumps that will, in turn, form uneven patches in your sponge. A smooth cake batter cooks more evenly

If you want to make a lemon or coffee cake, tweak the basic sponge recipe as follows:

Equipment you will need: two x 15cm round cake tins (each at least 7.5cm deep); medium saucepan; whisk; rubber spatula


Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
  

• Grease and line your two cake tins and set them aside.
  

• In a saucepan, gently melt the butter over a low heat to avoid it bubbling. Once melted, remove the pan from the heat, add in the caster sugar with the vanilla and use a whisk to combine until fully incorporated and a thick paste has formed.

• Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl or jug, then add to the butter and sugar and mix until fully incorporated.
  

• Swap your whisk for a spatula and fold in the flour until a smooth batter has formed.
  

• Weigh out half of the batter (approx. 470g) into each lined tin and level the surface.
  

• Bake for 40–45 minutes until the sponges are cooked all the way through.
  

• Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes.
  

• Pop the cakes out of the tins by pushing up from the bottom with your hand, remove the baking paper and leave on a wire rack until cooled completely.
  

• Wrap the sponges in clingfilm or place them in an airtight container overnight until you are ready to fill and decorate them.
  
  Adapted from: ‘Georgia’s Cakes: A step-by-step masterclass to make every cake a showstopper’ (Pavilion Books).
  
  Instagram: Georgiascakes
  
  Bored of vanilla? Find tweaks for a lemon or coffee version here.