Ingredients

• 4 free-range eggs
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g/8oz butter at room temperature
• plus a little extra to grease the tins
• good-quality strawberry or raspberry jam
• whipped double cream (optional)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins. Use a piece of baking paper to rub a little butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated
• then line the bottom with a circle of baking paper.
• Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl
• then add the sugar
• flour
• baking powder and butter. Mix together until well combined with an electric hand mixer (you can also use a wooden spoon)
• but be careful not to over mix. Put a damp cloth under your bowl when you’re mixing to stop it moving around. The finished mixture should fall off a spoon easily.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact
• but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.
• Bake the cakes on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch. Set aside to cool in their tins for 5 minutes. Run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tins and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.
• To assemble the cake
• place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam. If you want to
• you can spread over whipped cream too. Top with the second cake
• top-side up. Sprinkle over the caster sugar.