Caaaaaaaaake...

OK, so I disappeared off the face of the planet for a few months. I was recovering from massive insomnia, moved house, got a bike, started yoga lessons, got another parrot, and wrote a book on constitutional reform.

Which I just finished this week. Just in time for the deadline. Last Saturday, I spent 12 hours straight reformatting footnotes.

To celebrate, I decided to make cake. I don't know about you, but I really like ordinary, plain, vanilla, non-iced, non-marzipanned, non-covered-in-overly-sweet-goop regular old sponge cake. I adapted my recipe from a microwave Chinese Ma Lai Goh recipe. It's really moist and spongy. I figure I've altered it enough that I can post it without violating copyright; it's not even steamed anymore.

1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
4 tablespoons fruit juice (I used peach)
3 eggs (separated white and yolks - keep yolks)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. - (sorry, Fahrenheit people)

Sift flour and baking powder together. Set aside.

Whisk egg whites and sugar until they they form stiff peaks (builds muscles!)

Add oil, milk, juice, and egg yolks to flour mixture, mix into a sloppy paste.

Fold the egg whites and the sloppy paste together using rubber spatula. Don't overdo it and squish all the air out. It should look pillowy.

Pour into long rectangular baking tin (one the size of those Sara Lee cakes). Do not grease the baking tin! Do not line it with baking paper! Do not slam oven door! Do not shake baking tin! Do not open oven door until cake is completely done!

Yes, I have done almost all of the above in the past. That way lies flat cake.

Bake for 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Cool upside-down on wire rack, then pry cake out with butter knife.