Monday = sponge day

or: compare and contrast...

Since making my epic cornflour sponge last week, I have been twitching to try a good old Victoria sponge - all in the interests of scientific comparison, of course. Ahem. So, in the name of science I kept as many variables the same as possible: I used the same tins, the same number of eggs (4), the same oven temperature, the same fillings, the same plates for the photo... I even went to the effort of sperating the eggs to whisk the whites in an effort to get more air in the sponge, something I never would have done before last week's triumph.

The outcome? Nowhere near as much rise, that much is clear. However, I have to confess I prefer the taste. Maybe it's just because it's more familiar to me, and more what I expect when I bite into a sponge. Not sure what to try to get a better rise, though. Maybe I just need to beat it for longer, or maybe I should add some baking powder to the self-raising flour?

Guess I'll just have to keep experimenting... shucks. It's a hard life.