Recipe Steps
1. Prep your cups & oven: Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan. Line a round sponge cake tin with baking paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar: Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy for about 3–4 minutes.
3. Add the eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. If it looks like it’s splitting, add a spoon of your measured flour, this is perfectly normal.
4. Fold in flour: Sift the flour and baking powder together and fold into the batter with a spatula using slow, confident strokes.
5. Add milk: Add the milk and fold through. The batter should drop slowly from a spoon when tapped. Pour into the cake tin.
6. Bake: Bake for 20–24 minutes until risen, golden on top, and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely. When cooled use the top and the bottom of the cup to cut out 2 circles. I split them in half then to have 4 circles, 2 bigger, 2 smaller.
7. Make the icing: Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract on HIGH for at least 5–6 full minutes. This is the secret to silky, smooth icing. The colour changes from a deep yellow to an almost pale white.
8. Build your dot cake: Once the sponge is completely cool, lay in the circles of cake and dollop a little icing between each layer. Spoon the last dollop on top, smooth over well, using a cranked spatula. Then dip the cake in the cup in the bowl of sprinkles.
